Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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70. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality when a judicial council will be established; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34838/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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It will come as no surprise to the Deputy when I say that, like its predecessors, this Government is firmly of the view that it is necessary to put in place a structure to deal with allegations of judicial misconduct which fall below the level which might warrant invoking Article 35.4 of the Constitution. The Government is also firmly of the view that it is necessary to provide a platform for the promotion of excellence and high standards of conduct by judges.

The Deputy will recall that the current Legislation Programme includes the Judicial Council Bill among those Bills whose publication this Session is a priority. Work on the drafting of the Bill is continuing in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General and my Department is working closely with that Office to bring that work to a timely conclusion in order to ensure publication within the timeframe set out in the Legislation Programme. Furthermore, my Department continues to be engaged in extensive consultations both with the Judiciary and the Courts Service in relation to ongoing drafting work. The Bill has benefitted from past review by the judiciary who considered it as part of the work of the Interim Judicial Council which has been established pending the Bill’s enactment.

The Bill, when published, will provide for the establishment of a Judicial Council and Board of that Council. It will also provide for the establishment of a Judicial Conduct Committee, the membership of which will include lay persons, to facilitate the investigation of allegations of judicial misconduct. That Committee will also have a role in preparing guidelines concerning judicial conduct and ethics. Matters relating to the training of judges will also be addressed.

The Government continues to be committed to progressing this legislation as speedily as possible. While it is regarded as a priority by the Government it has, in the past, had to give way to other pressing and urgent legislative requirements, some of which arose from our Troika commitments and some of which concerned important social and societal issues such as the establishment of the Court of Appeal and last year's Marriage Referendum. I can assure the Deputy that work on the Bill is very advanced indeed and I look forward to its contents being debated by the Oireachtas. I would hope that it will be possible to begin that debate early in 2017.