Shane Ross has no regrets about criticising judiciary

Minister for Transport Shane Ross has said he has no regrets about criticising members of the judiciary in the ongoing debate about the way they are appointed.

Mr Ross and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald agreed the general scheme of a Bill to establish a new body which will decide on judicial appointments.

There will be 11 members with two judges, a lay majority of non-legal people including victims rights groups and human rights bodies.

Mr Ross said he accepted Fianna Fáil was concerned about the contents of the Bill but he hoped a resolution could be found.

The Minister said: “It is too early to be talking about compromising. This was contained in the Programme for Government.

“The Independent Alliance was elected on that programme. It was hard fought and those are key, sacred pillars of the Programme for Government.”

The Minister has been criticised for accusing judges of forgetting their oaths when they enter office and claiming the judiciary lead a charmed life.

On Tuesday, Mr Ross said he accepted the words were “robust” but insisted they had to be said.

He said the language may have been too colourful but claimed he never intended to get “their backs up”.

Mr Ross said they were very important people who did not like change.

The completed draft of the Bill is due to be completed by the end of January, according to the agreement.

The Bill will stipulate that a new mechanism for appointing judges is to be set up. A new body with a majority of non-legal members, headed by a non-legal chair, will select a ranked shortlist of candidates for the bench before forwarding to the Government.