Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend Senators Boyhan, McDowell and Craughwell on bringing forward this motion on the establishment of a judicial council. The establishment of a judicial council is a hugely important matter and one which the Fianna Fáil Party and I fully support. As outlined by Senator Boyhan, Fianna Fáil brought forward a judicial council Bill in 2010 in an attempt the ensure continued public confidence in judicial integrity. As a result, an interim judicial council was established in 2011. It was tasked with dealing with pending legislation to provide for a judicial council. Following this, the previous Fine Gael-Labour Party Government pledged to legislate to establish a judicial council with lay representation to provide an effective mechanism for dealing with complaints against judges. The pledge was not honoured and the Government reneged on yet another of its promises. I therefore find it difficult to believe, as the Tánaiste stated in this Chamber last week, that a Bill to provide for the establishment of a judicial council would be produced in this session.

The establishment of a judicial council would go a long way to ensuring that Ireland fulfils its commitments under the Council of Europe's group of states against corruption, GRECO, report recommendations. GRECO's evaluation report published in November 2014 stated that Ireland should establish a judicial council within 18 months following the adoption of the report and that it should report to the group on the actions it has taken in response to the recommendations. This deadline was extended to the end of September 2016, yet still no serious action has been taken by a Government that continues to drag its heels on the issue. The current placement of the judicial council Bill under all other legislation displays the demotion of its status from previous Government legislative agendas. The Irish Judiciary and other concerned bodies have been advocating for the establishment of a judicial council for more than 20 years in an attempt to ensure that the Irish Judiciary would have a forum for the professional development of judges, a standard-setter in the area of judicial ethics and a safeguard for the separation of powers. A judicial council would facilitate interactions between the Judiciary and other branches of Government, supporting the independence of the Judiciary and providing a mechanism for the investigation and handling of complaints around judicial misconduct.

Once again, I commend Senators Boyhan, McDowell and Craughwell on bringing this issue before the Chamber. I hope that this House can put pressure on the Government and the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to act on the GRECO recommendations and finally establish a judicial council to promote and support the continued excellence of our judges in performing their judicial functions. I also associate myself with the comments made by Senator McDowell on the lack of progress in filling vacancies in the Judiciary.