Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

We are making progress today, which is a very positive thing. This amendment mirrors the UK legislation and is a practical one. It is something the President of the Court of Appeal has looked for and it would also reduce delays in the courts. Currently, a judge must stop being a judge on the date of retirement, which means that judgments must be delivered by that date. The inevitable consequence of the reality of that is that judges are in effect benched for the last three months of their time as a judge, in order to ensure that they are not sitting on cases that may not finish and that all outstanding judgments are delivered.

This is even more relevant for the appellate courts where more than one judge sits. I will withdraw the amendment but reserve the right to reintroduce it on Report Stage.