The Importance of Debate on The Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017

Today (19 Feb 2019) at the Order of Business in the Seanad, I countered the very serious suggestion by the Leader of the House, Senator Jerry Buttimer, Fine Gael that the ongoing debate on the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017 is bringing the Seanad into disrepute. It has been implied that the almost 70 hours of debate has damaged the reputation of the Seanad and by implication its members. I pointed out that since the commencement of Committee Stage debate, the Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption had questioned whether the Bill was in line with European Standards and if it actually secured judicial independence. In addition the European Commission in a report in March 2018 was definitive and explicit in its view that the Bill was not in line with European Standards. As recently as November 2018 the Irish Times Editorial stated “It is still not too late for the Government to scrap the ill-advised Judicial Appointments Bill being foisted on the country at the whim of Minister for Transport, Shane Ross.”