Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important that we recognise diversity. This is not a lawyer-only zone, nor should it be. The courts and the Judiciary serve the citizens and all our people so it is essential we embark on a process of modernisation in the area of judicial appointments.

To answer Senator Bacik, I intend to bring a memorandum to Cabinet tomorrow on the matter of the GRECO report and, should I receive the assent of the Government, I intend to ensure the availability of the document, some of which is already available. It is not my document - it is GRECO's document - so I presume I will publish with the consent of the authors of the document. There is no secrecy or an attempt to short-change Senators in any way. I have read the report in full and prepared a memorandum for Cabinet. By the time this debate is resumed tomorrow, subject to the business committee of the Seanad, I would hope the report will be available to everybody.

It will be no surprise to Members who have been involved in this debate, and were involved in the consultation process over a period of time, that the former Minister for justice, Alan Shatter, initiated the first round of public consultation in 2013. He asked for submissions from a wide range of stakeholders to assist in the preparation of the reforming legislation. I trust that the appropriate Seanad committee or party caucuses acknowledge the importance of that consultation process.

Nobody was in any doubt that the judicial appointments system, which Senator McDowell knows so well, served its purpose for a decade but was in need of reform. The first line of the 2014 submission from the Judiciary, about which there has been much talk, and for which there has been much support in this House, stated that the present system of judicial appointments was unsatisfactory.

We then moved on to the consultation process and there was engagement in this House on it. In 2016, the programme for Government committed to a new commission with an independent chair and a non-legal majority, and the scheme of a Bill was published at the end of December 2016. There was prelegislative scrutiny in January 2017 and I dare say some Members of this House were involved in that, though I was not. The scheme was modified and the Bill was published on 30 May 2017.It was passed by the Dáil and is now here. There was engagement with GRECO. I noticed an element of surprise on the part of Senators last night that we had been in touch with GRECO, as though this was some sort of sharp practice or unacceptable aspect to the proceedings.