Fianna Fáil ‘will not back down’ over judicial appointments

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has warned his party will not back down on demands to ensure judges continue to control how they are appointed — throwing the future of the Fine Gael-led Government it supports into fresh doubt.

The opposition leader firmly outlined the situation last night in a move that is likely to further destabilise the confidence and supply deal between Ireland’s two largest parties.

Under plans pushed by Independent Alliance TD and Transport Minister Shane Ross in recent weeks, Cabinet yesterday agreed to put forward a new bill in January radically reforming how judges are appointed.

The new bill, which will need to be voted on by the Dáil and Seanad before becoming law, includes moves to create a new 11-person judges appointments commission which will include six ordinary members of the public.

The lay person majority step is in direct contrast to a separate bill by Fianna Fáil justice spokesperson Jim O’Callaghan which had sought to continue the judge majority situation in the current system.

And while Mr Ross and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald publicly welcomed the Cabinet decision yesterday, speaking on RTÉ News last night Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin stressed his party is completely opposed to the development.

“Our bill is a complete bill, it was cynically undermined by Government to please Shane Ross. We hold our position [that the appointments process should remain judge-led] and for the model in our bill.

“In our view it would be inconceivable if the chief justice did not chair this [judge appointments] commission. There are big challenges ahead on this one,” he warned.

The comment is likely to place fresh pressure on Mr Ross to limit some of his long-sought judicial reforms — which also include plans for a register of judges’ commercial interests — in order to ensure the survival of the Government.

However, while saying he is open to “reconciling” aspects of the Government bill with Fianna Fáil during a media briefing yesterday before Mr Martin’s comments were made, the Transport Minister insisted the lay majority change must remain in place as it is a “very sacred pillar”.

While the Cabinet signed off on the reforms collectively, it is widely accepted that Fine Gael was reluctant to put in place a number of the reforms sought by Mr Ross, with a public war of words occurring between the Independent Alliance TD and Taoiseach Enda Kenny last month.

Asked about the changes on RTÉ Radio’s Drivetime programme yesterday, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said her department has been working on the reforms since 2014 but notably declined to criticise the existing judicial appointments system, saying: “Nobody has been suggesting the wrong people have been appointed.”