THE announcement of an independent board to manage the courts was welcomed by representatives of the legal profession last night, but prisons organisations reacted more cautiously to the proposed independent board for prisons.
The Law Society said solicitors throughout the length and breadth of the land will be delighted" by the announcement of an independent body to manage the courts.
Its director general, Mr Ken Murphy, said the Government's proposal to appoint a chief executive of the new board before the legislation enacting it was "absolutely the right approach".
Mr Murphy was a member of the Working Group on the Courts Commission which recommended the setting up of an independent statutory body to manage the courts last May.
The chairman of the Bar Council, Mr James Nugent, said the proposed body would be a "very significant improvement in the administration of justice".
He said the approach to solving problems in the courts system to date had been "piecemeal", but that the proposed board represented a "radical and thorough overhaul which would ensure the smooth running of the courts in the future".
Mr Nugent, who was also on the courts working group, said he appreciated that comments had been made on the timing of the Government's announcement about the setting up of the body, but as far as the Bar Council was concerned "there's no time like now".
The Prison Officers' Association (POA) said the establishment of an independent statutory body to manage prisons raised questions about the "status and working conditions" of prison officers.
Its spokesman, Mr Tom Hoare, said the announcement of the new body "came out of the blue". "We'll reserve our position on it until we have full details," he added.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust said the principle of an independent management board for prisons was "very good", but it cautioned that the body's autonomy must be guaranteed strictly.
The trust, which monitors the prison system and researches "more humane alternatives" to prison, said the way the new board was announced was "not reflective".
"It appears to be a Government reaction to the present crisis," said the trust's chairperson, Ms Valerie Bresnihan.
Ms Bresnihan said any new board running prisons should be governed by the principles of equality, justice and human rights. "We don't have a just and fair prisons system and these principles should be laid out formally and clearly," in the new board, she said.
She also warned that if there was "any strong political affiliation by anybody on the board's management, it would be hopeless and ultimately destructive to the prison service".