Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----Minister for Justice and Equality. I was certainly in awe of his mastery of his brief in the Department of Justice and Equality, but in particular, of this legislation.

I acknowledge that more than 48 judges have been appointed under this administration and all of them are exceptional people and were appointed on merit. Let us not lose sight of that in this debate. We have a very high calibre of men and women serving in the Judiciary and they have done an exceptionally good job. The system to date has worked. Despite all the arguments, complaints, and media coverage that people would veto, stop, or block the appointment of judges, a very impressive list of 48, if not more, judges have been appointed. I wish all of them well and I am more than confident that it was the right thing to do. They are all men and women of merit. It proves the point that despite all the hours spent in debate, this House or the Government did not stop or impede an appointment to the Judiciary, which is an important point to make.