Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I do not intend to detain him for long on this legislation, which the Fianna Fáil Party fully supports. We will actively campaign for a "Yes" vote on 4 October on the question that will be put to the people on the establishment of a court of appeal, while actively campaign for a "No" vote on the other question related to the ill-considered proposal to abolish the Seanad.

The Minister addressed many of the questions I had planned to ask. It is difficult to state, in advance of a referendum being passed, when the new court of appeal will be established and the backlog of the cases to the Supreme Court will start to clear. However, the Minister addressed these issues as best he could. I note, for example, that he cited a date of autumn 2014 for the establishment of the new court. I had also intended to ask a question on the number of judges but the Minister addressed the matter. It is difficult to ask him to look into a crystal ball. If, however, the referendum is passed and the court of appeal is up and running by autumn of 2014, in light of his legal experience, when would the Minister expect the number of cases going before the Supreme Court to reduce and the backlog to be cleared?

The Minister correctly noted the importance of having major multinational corporations locate their European and global headquarters in Dublin. For this reason, it is important to ensure there are no undue delays. When does the Minister expect improvements to take place?

The process of appointing judges has been the subject of criticism, some of it justified. We all want this process to be transparent. Successive Governments, including the current and previous Administrations, have been criticised for making certain appointments. The Minister will be aware of the specific cases to which I refer. Is he considering improving the appointment process to make it more transparent? Should the referendum be passed, we will have an opportunity to change the appointment process in respect of the nine or ten judges to the new court. This would ensure transparency in the appointment of judges.

The number of High Court judges increased from seven to 36, whereas the number of judges in the Supreme Court only increased from four to eight over the same period. I am pleased to note the number of Supreme Court judges is set to increase to ten.

The Minister indicated that progress has been made on the establishment of a commercial court to fast-track disputes and that appeals from this court were still subject to the same delays as the Supreme Court. How does he envisage this will work on the commercial side?

As I noted, the Minister's contribution was comprehensive and addressed most of the questions I had intended to ask. I fully support the Bill and my party will advocate a "Yes" vote in the forthcoming referendum.