Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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10. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on the call by the Judicial Appointments Review Committee led by the Chief Justice, Susan Denham, for a radical overhaul of judicial appointments. [9724/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that, under the Constitution, judges are appointed by the President on the advice of the Government. The current process for the appointment of judges in Ireland is set out in sections 12 to 17 of the Courts and Courts Officers Act 1995 which established the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board.

Under the existing system of judicial appointments, the Board submits to me, as Minister for Justice and Equality, the names of the persons who have applied for appointment and whom it recommends as suitable for appointment. This procedure has been in place since 1995 and, at my request, my Department is currently undertaking a review of the judicial appointments process. This review will consider how best to ensure and protect the principle of judicial independence and includes consideration of issues such as the appointment process, eligibility criteria, the role of the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board and the need to promote equality and diversity.

In December I initiated a public consultation process which involved not only members of the judiciary and the legal profession generally, but also engaged the broader public who benefit daily in innumerable ways from the protection of an independent judiciary. A total of 25 submissions have been received to date, including a submission from the Judicial Appointments Review Committee, and they will now be considered within my Department. The consultation process sought submissions within the current Constitutional provisions and any proposal to introduce a new system of appointments which would require statutory amendments would, of course, be a matter for consideration by Government in the first instance.