Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I think the Cathaoirleach had a part in it too. Nevertheless, it is important we are back to debate it. It is welcome that the Bill is before us. I will not use all my time. I will outline an overarching view of the Bill. The thrust of my work will be when it comes to us on Committee Stage, which I will refer to briefly. The Minister will forgive me for having to read my notes from my phone on this occasion.

This Bill is about the long-overdue reform of the system used to appoint judges. It proposes a raft of reforms which change the way in which judges are appointed. For many years, previous Governments have shown little urgency with respect to implementing reforms that are needed to enhance public confidence in the independence of the Judiciary. Before this Bill came before the Oireachtas, Fine Gael was in no rush to reform the appointments system for the decade or so it was in government. It is important a level playing field is created to ensure transparency in the appointments process and that a mechanism is in place which keeps the Government's influence at a distance, with merit being the overriding consideration. That is why the Joint Committee on Justice did not accede to the request to waive pre-legislative scrutiny, which is important. Its position has been vindicated, since the Government tabled a number of amendments arising from the pre-legislative scrutiny, including a requirement that judges be interviewed, guarantees that anyone appointed has gone through the judicial appointments commission process, and that only a specific number of individuals can be forwarded for consideration.

We tabled a number of amendments to the Bill in areas where it lacks, although none have been accepted until this point. The speed of movement on this process reflects the pressure the Government has been under regarding the system and how it has operated. Most important and worrying, the Bill still sees a role for the Attorney General in the judicial appointments commission. This is where I diverge from some of my colleagues. A group of academics, including Dr. Laura Cahillane, Dr. David Kenny and Dr. Tom Hickey, wrote to the Minister to advise her to remove this from the Bill. The Bill does not have a cooling-off period for the appointment of an Attorney General to judicial office. My colleague, Deputy Martin Kenny, introduced a Bill to make the Attorney General ineligible for appointment to the bench straight after leaving office. Given that we have seen two Attorneys General move seamlessly across, the Office of the Attorney General should be nowhere near this process. I alert the Minister and her officials that Sinn Féin will table this amendment again in the Seanad. We urge the Minister and colleagues in Government parties to reflect on and consider the merits of the amendment and to consider accepting it.