Coalition has no plans to amend judicial appointments bill

The Government plans to drive through legislation for the new judicial appointments system and does not expect to make any amendments despite calls for changes from top judges and opposition parties.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dáil the terms for the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill were agreed under last year’s Programme for Government. This includes proposals for a lay majority to sit on the new commission and for its chairman to be a lay person — the main concern of judges.

An unprecedented intervention by the country’s top judges, led by Chief Justice Susan Denham, this week saw a joint warning by letter to Mr Varadkar that the new system would have “serious implications for the administration of justice”.