Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Tá áthas orm bheith in ann seasamh anseo anocht agus tacaíocht a thabhairt don Bhille seo atá ag teacht tríd.

As everyone is aware, the referendum which took place on 4 October 2013 was required in order to make the necessary constitutional provision for the establishment of the Court of Appeal. It was carried by 65% of the people. The new Court of Appeal will hear appeals from the High Court and the Supreme Court will hear cases, on appeal, from the Court of Appeal and, in exceptional circumstances, from the High Court. This reform will bring about a major change in the courts system and ease the four-year backlog of cases before the Supreme Court. In future, the latter will only take appeals on constitutional issues or cases of major importance. We are currently in a situation where some important cases of a constitutional nature have been waiting three or four years to be heard. I firmly believe that this should not be the position. It is simply not acceptable. I welcome the fact that the legislation seeks to resolve the problems that exist in this regard.

As the Minister is aware, my party colleague, Deputy Mac Lochlainn, launched the Reform of Judicial Appointments Procedures Bill 2013 earlier this year, which is part of Sinn Féin's campaign to end the political cronyism that is embedded in Irish society. We launched the legislation in the hope that it would put an end to the system of political appointees being made judges in Ireland. The Bill would amend the way in which the Judicial Appointments Board operates in order to increase transparency and accountability in the area of judicial appointments, which is badly needed. Confidence in the justice system is contingent on a Judiciary which is free from political control or political or other bias. It is essential that there is an independent and impartial Judiciary here which is representative of the community it serves. Future judicial appointments should be drawn from a wider pool of qualified candidates, particularly as this would enhance confidence in the justice system.

For too long we have all been aware of stories throughout the length and breadth of the State where judges were appointed with a wink and nod after demonstrating their loyalty to Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Labour Party or the Progressive Democrats. The days of the old boys club that dominates the legal and political spheres in Ireland must come to an end. They have failed our people. The practice of the Government appointing senior judges must be ended if the public is to have any faith in a Judiciary free from political or other bias.

If this Government was serious about ending corruption it would have supported this Bill. The sheer number of politically affiliated judges adds to an already embedded public perception of the Judiciary as an elite to whom the law of the land does not apply equally.

Sinn Féin is calling for the establishment of a fair and accountable appointment and removal process for the Judiciary that would involve meaningful lay participation representative of the public interest. Sinn Féin believes that judicial independence is undermined by the current appointment process in the Twenty-six Counties. The Judicial Appointments Advisory Board was established in the wake of the controversial appointment of Harry Whelehan as President of the High Court in 1994 and was meant to have removed sole discretion for judicial appointment from the Government. However, there remains political involvement in the appointment of the Judiciary as the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board merely provides a list of seven qualified candidates to the Government, which, in turn, makes the appointment of judicial officeholders. The appointment procedures should be transparent to enhance public confidence in the process. The Fine Gael Labour Party Government promised to be a reforming Government and put an end to the jobs-for-the-boys culture but from an examination of its judicial appointments so far it is clear that many of its political cronies have received jobs.

I wish to discuss the cost to people of taking cases in the courts.