Patronage key to judicial appointments, claims Shane Ross

This Government is no different from the previous administration in using political patronage for the appointment of judges, the Dáil has heard.

Independent TD Shane Ross claimed Fine Gael appointed as judges “those who have served the party well over the years” - in the same way its predecessors did.

He disputed a statement by Minister of State Alex White that "Government decisions on judicial appointments take only competence and merit into consideration".

Mr Ross said such an approach “is nonsense”, adding that “the defining consideration is far too often the political colour of the applicant”.

The Dublin South TD claimed a Fine Gael trustee “who ran as a colleague with the Taoiseach in his constituency but did not get elected and has a Fine Gael pedigree second to none, was appointed to the District Court when the Government came to power.

“The same person had made many applications under the previous government but did not get a job,” he said.

The Dublin South TD said “there are so many cases which are similar to this that the Minister for State’s statement that all appointment s are made on merit really does not hold any water”.

He was speaking during a Dáil debate on the Reform of Judicial Appointments Procedures Bill, introduced by Sinn Féin justice spokesman Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, which aims to “increase transparency and accountability in judicial appointments”.

The legislation provides for a judicial council and complaints body to hold judges to account, along with a code of ethics they should abide by. The Donegal North East TD said having an allegiance to a political party should not exclude somebody from holding judicial office but there had to be a “clear, published meritocracy in the appointment process”.

The Sinn Féin legislation mirrored the changes respected members of the judiciary were seeking in the appointments process, he said.

Mr White rejected Mr Ross’s claims and said he did not believe people were appointed wholesale on the basis of a political background. He also rejected the Sinn Féin Bill and said a review of the process was almost complete and a final report “is at an advanced stage”.