Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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168. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he envisages the expansion in the number of members of the judiciary due to the set-up of the Court of Appeal, should it pass a referendum; his views on the number of members of the judiciary that will required as a result of the new court being established; if the new court's judges will be at the same level of that as a current High Court judge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22067/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the question of the appointment of judges to the Court of Appeal will not arise unless the People approve its establishment in the Referendum, in which case a Bill will be enacted setting out the various operational aspects of the Court, including the number of judges to be appointed to the Court. I announced earlier this week that the Government has decided to increase the number of Supreme Court judges by two as an interim measure to address the backlog in the Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeal.

Ahead of the Referendum, therefore, I intend to consult with interested parties, including my colleagues in Government and the Judiciary, before deciding on the optimal number of judges that should be appointed to the new Court, taking into account its expected workload and the future shape of the Supreme Court. Without prejudging the outcome of the consultations, it would be expected that the number of Supreme Court judges would reduce somewhat as the backlog of cases is dealt with. The salary is yet to be decided but the level will be between that of a High Court judge and a Supreme Court judge.