Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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34. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons and the number of solicitors the judicial appointments advisory board nominated to fill vacancies in the Circuit Court in November 2015 and April 2016. [12249/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware under the Constitution, the Government nominates to the President for appointment persons who have been recommended as suitable for appointment to judicial office by the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board. The current process for the appointment of judges in Ireland is set out in Part IV of the Courts and Court Officers Act 1995. The Judicial Appointments Advisory Board deals with applications from candidates for judicial office. The Board submits to me, as Minister for Justice and Equality, the names of those deemed suitable for appointment. Under the provisions of section 20 of the Court and Court Officers Act 1995, all proceedings of the Board and all communications to the Board are confidential and shall not be disclosed except for the purposes of Act.  The Board publishes an Annual Report and I understand the 2015 Report will be published shortly. The reports are available on the Board's website www.jaab.ie. As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government proposes extensive reform of the judicial appointments process, to ensure it remains transparent, fair and credible.