Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It worries me that private companies and partnerships could be handed the function of carrying out a primary winnowing out of people applying to be judges. It does not happen with the JAAB and I do not think it is a particular problem. When I was a member of the JAAB - I know it also from the time I was Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform - it was quite common for over 80 and sometimes fewer than 120 applicants to apply for the position of District Court judge. I do not think it is a great State secret. I want the House to know the size of the number of applications one might expect to receive. On the other hand, there was an almost pyramidal aspect to the number of applicants the higher up the judicial hierarchy one went.