‘I’ve no axe to grind against judges’ – Ross

WOULD-be judicial reformer Shane Ross has said he regrets that he can’t go further with his Bill on the appointment of judges by civilian majority.

And despite an unprecedented backlash from the Chief Justice, various highranking judges and professional body the Association of Irish Judges, Mr Ross predicted that it would pass both Houses of the Oireachtas ‘after a very full, not rushed, debate’.

The Transport Minister said he had been accused by Fianna Fáil’s Micheál Martin of having ‘some vendetta against the judiciary, the legal profession and others,’ but that nothing could be further from the truth.

‘My family is steeped in legal tradition and the legal profession,’ he said. ‘My father was managing partner of a firm now known as Matheson Ormsby Prentice.

‘I was perfectly used as a young child to members of the Supreme Court, barristers, solicitors and people like that pottering through the house.

‘It is something with which I am fairly comfortable and familiar but I certainly do not have any grudge or axe to bear against these people or this institution.’

However, Mr Ross added that if he had been taught anything in dealing with legislation it is ‘how incredibly difficult’ it is to tackle reform.

‘After 30 or 35 years in this House and the Seanad, I am beginning to learn that getting a mild reform through, away from the bastions and official Ireland, is a much harder project than I had anticipated.’

Mr Ross insisted that his Bill would reform fundamentally the judicial appointments system. Despite strong opposition from Fianna Fáil, the Bill is expected to pass with the support of Sinn Féin, although it is not yet clear if it will pass through the Dáil before the summer.

Meanwhile the new Justice Minister, Charlie Flanagan, refused to tell the Justice Committee yesterday whether Máire Whelan had applied for her new job as a judge on the Court of Appeal.

Mr Flanagan said there had been ‘a number of expressions of interest,’ but that he was precluded from commenting on them in detail.

He added: ‘The correct and proper procedures were at all times adhered to and properly followed.’ He referred to the role of Cabinet confidentiality.