Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the same issue because there is a need for clarity. In two national newspapers today major concerns were expressed about judicial appointments. Last week the Minister for Justice and Equality was in the House and, in fairness to her, she indicated that she would bring forward some reforms. Having a veto on judicial appointments is wrong and constitutionally questionable. We are now in a situation where a Minister has told the public and the political system that he has received a cast iron commitment and has an agreement with the Government. This raises serious questions about the separation of powers and the overlap in this matter. Tomorrow we will debate a Private Member's motion on the establishment of a judicial council. I do not want to spend all of the time allotted to me talking about this issue, but, clearly, it has reached the heights of being mentioned in the national press and forms part of the editorial in today's edition of The Irish Times. We need the Minister for Justice and Equality to come into the House for a debate on it. I understand she will not be here tomorrow but that her Minister of State will be. I want her to clarify the position once and for all. I want to know whether there is an agreement in place. No Bill and no memo have been prepared for pre-legislative scrutiny at the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality. From where is all of this coming? It is clear that there are issues in the courts, particularly in the hearing of appeals for which there is a shortage of judges. Senator Mark Daly was right when he said justice denied was justice delayed and vice versa. We cannot have a situation where people are queuing up to have appeals heard, yet there are no judges available to hear them. This is about the Judiciary and the separation of powers. It is imperative that the Minister come to the House tomorrow to clarify the position or issue a statement on the current position. I want her to clarify if there is an agreement that the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Independent Alliance state they have. Both matters must be clarified because the country is facing a potential judicial crisis within the next few days.