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Minister Mrs Helen McEntee publishes Bill to implement biggest reform to judicial appointments in decades.
- Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022 provides clear process for appointing judges.
- New measures mean all candidates, including serving judges, will undergo new application and interview procedures.
- Candidates will be required to undergo judicial training or continuous professional development.
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee, T.D., has today announced that the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022, was approved by Government earlier this week and will be published shortly.
This represents an important step forward in the reform of the judicial appointments process as committed to by the Minister, most recently in Justice Plan 2022.
This Bill, when enacted, will lead to the biggest reform in the way judges are chosen for appointment in a quarter of a century.
A number of key changes have been made to the Bill from the General Scheme as published by Minister McEntee in December 2020.
The changes include:
* Number of recommendations – 3 persons to be recommended instead of 5 recommendations as provided for in the General Scheme and an additional 2 recommendations for a second and additional vacancies. For example, this would mean seven recommendations for three vacancies
* Only persons recommended by the Judicial Appointments Commission to be recommend by the Government for appointment by the President
* Interviews – Any person – new applicants and serving judges seeking promotion to higher courts – who is to be recommended to the Minister for Justice for appointment should have been interviewed by the Judicial Appointments Commission
* Diversity – The Commission will be required to publish a diversity statement committing to the objective that membership of the judiciary should reflect the diversity of the population as a whole.
* Continuous Professional Development – Candidates will be required to show they have undertaken judicial training or continuous professional development
Minister McEntee said:
“In the hundred years since the foundation of the state, our judges and our judiciary have served us extremely well. In proposing this legislation, I hope that it will enable the continued appointment of excellence judges which are a cornerstone of a strong, independent judiciary.
It is vital that we have a very clear process for judicial appointments, one that people understand and have full confidence in.
The Bill I am publishing today allows for the establishment of a Judicial Appointments Commission of nine members, chaired by the Chief Justice, to replace the current Judicial Appointments Advisory Board.
All 4 lay members of the Commission will be selected and recommended by the Public Appointments Service.
The current JAAB process only concerns first-time judicial appointments, with no statutory advisory role in place relating to appointments from the ranks of serving judges.
This Bill will ensure that anyone who wishes to be considered for appointment to judicial office, including serving judges, will apply to the Commission and undergo the same application and interview processes.
Membership of the judiciary should also reflect the diversity of the population as a whole and a new diversity statement will commit the Judicial Appointments Commission to that objective.
I look forward to working with all members of the Houses of the Oireachtas to bring this legislation to enactment as soon as possible.”
The approval of this Bill follows a substantial process of consultations, in particular with the Attorney General, the European Commission and the Chief Justice.
Commenting on the changes made in the Bill to the General Scheme, Minister McEntee stated:
“In a change from the previously published General Scheme, three persons are to be recommended instead of five, with an additional two recommendations for a second and additional vacancies. This will ensure that we are meeting all of our necessary obligations under EU law.
I am strongly of the view that a candidate should be recommended only after being interviewed, so I have made this a requirement in the Bill.
Additionally, I have included a requirement that judicial appointments will reflect the need for candidates to undergo judicial training or continuous professional development.
I am committed to improving training and continuous professional development right across the justice sector. This is crucial to providing a better service to people who need to engage with our justice system and those who work within it – from our Gardaí to our judges – and I am pleased the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill reflects this priority.”
The Judicial Appointments Commission will set out best practice selection procedures including interviews and the knowledge, skills and attributes required of judges.
  
The Workplace Relations Commission heard that a Co. Tipperary mushroom producer, Stablefield Ltd, with a registered office at Killeaton, Clogheen, Co Tipperary, allegedly paid a female Romanian mushroom picker just €4.06 per hour, despite the national minimum wage being between €8.65 and €9.15 per hour.
A State workplace watchdog has now ordered Stablefield Ltd to pay the former employee and harvest manager Ana Lacramioara Manciu, €15,058 in arrears, following the company’s failure to pay her the national minimum wage over a 12 month period, between September 2015 and September 2016. (During this period, the national minimum wage in July 2011 was set at €8.65 and had increased to €9.15 by January 1st, 2016.)
In her findings, Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) adjudicator, Úna Glazier Farmer, a qualified Barrister-at-Law, stated that she accepted Ana Lacramioara Manciu’s undisputed evidence in its entirety and that her complaint was well founded.
Ana Lacramioara Manciu provided evidence of working 14 and 15 hour days but only getting paid for 6.58 hours and 6.77 hours on particular days by the firm Stablefield Ltd.
Ana Lacramioara Manciu alleged that Stablefield Ltd falsified her working hours and the Workplace Relations adjudicator agreed that Stablefield Ltd sought to take advantage of Lacramioara Manciu, who was not fully familiar with her employment rights, following her arrival here in Ireland with her husband.
Úna Glazier Farmer (WRC) adjudicator stated that Ana Lacramioara Manciu gave her evidence with exceptional detail and clarity, despite the passage of time in the case and was clear as to dates, times and events in her reference to all supporting evidence.
In her findings, Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) adjudicator, Úna Glazier Farmer stated that she accepted Lacramioara Manciu’s undisputed evidence in its entirety and that her complaint is well founded.
The Commission adjudicator agreed that it appeared it was the clear intention of the company to deceive the complainant by underpaying her significantly less than the national minimum wage, which she regarded as a most heinous breach of employment rights.
Úna Glazier Farmer has also awarded Ana Lacramioara Manciu €2,000 in expenses in connection with the dispute, latter brought under Section 24 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000.
TUS Engineering Open Day opens up a variety of careers and courses in engineering to Leaving Cert Students.
The Engineering Special Topic for this year’s Leaving Cert exams will take centre stage at the 2022 TUS Engineering Open Day on Saturday March 12th, 2022.
The established open day on the Moylish Campus of the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) introduces leaving cert student to a variety of engineering courses, lecturers and students, and leading engineering employers from across the Mid West.
As the open day returns to an in-person event, so too does the renowned seminar on the Leaving Cert Engineering Special Topic. Students can attend the 30-minute seminar on “Principles of Operation and Applications of Artificial Intelligence in smart Manufacturing Techniques” during the Engineering Open Day.
TUS Engineering Open Day Co-ordinator Mr Peadar Heneghan said,
“The TUS Engineering Open Day is unique as it allows leaving certificate students with an interest in engineering, and their parents, see first-hand the variety of careers available in engineering by meeting students, lecturers and employers across all disciplines. The visiting student can go on a journey from choosing a course to choosing a career in just a few short steps, as they learn from those who have travelled the road before them.
We encourage leaving cert students to question our lecturers and students about specific courses, and then meet potential employers and indeed employees who undertook the course to discuss career options.
The opportunities for a career in engineering are varied, with something to suit almost everyone interested. TUS on March 12, 2022, from 10am to 1pm is the place to be to discover the college and career path that best suits each individual,” he added.
TUS Engineering Open Day is free and those interested in attending are asked to register: HERE
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, and the Minister for Finance, Mr Paschal Donohoe TD, are both pleased to announce that the court fees and their associated excise duty, relating to Special Exemptions Orders, or so called SEOs, will be waived until the end of April, 2022.
This follows a previous waiver that was in place from October 19th, 2021 to December 31st, 2021.
Prior to the lockdowns, Nightclubs and Late Bars needed to obtain a Special Exemption Order from the District Court for every occasion they want to trade past normal trading hours. SEO permit extended opening hours until 2.30am subject to the Gardaí and Courts agreement.
The Court fee for each Special Exemption Order was €300 and an excise duty of €110 per application was payable to the Revenue Commissioners.
Making the announcement after Cabinet today, Minister McEntee said, “I know that the lifting of restrictions will be warmly welcomed, perhaps no more so than by those working in nightclubs and late bars.
All licence holders, but particularly those serving in the late night trade, have found themselves in such a difficult situation as a result of COVID-19. The Government is committed to supporting these businesses and the night time economy, to get back on their feet in 2022.
We initially introduced the waiver in relation to SEOs for late night trade licence holders, who traditionally trade past normal opening hours in October of last year, and I am delighted to be able to extend this exemption until the end of April, 2022. It will be still necessary for the SEO court application to be made and the order to be obtained by the licensed premises.
I look forward to further changes in this area as part of my reforms to the licensing laws in the forthcoming Sale of Alcohol Bill.”
Minister Donohoe said, “The waiver of court fees and excise duty for special exemption orders recognises the particular difficulties experienced by the sector, where many businesses have been closed for a significant period of time or had to operate at a reduced capacity on reopening last October.”
Munster Strategic Investments, Mocklers Hill, Cashel, Co Tipperary, owners of the Kilcoran Lodge Hotel Leisure Centre, Bohemarnane, County Tipperary, were granted leave to apply for the appointment of an examiner on Tuesday 7th December last, in the Circuit Civil Court, in a bid to save the business and the jobs of some 37 employees.
Barrister Mr Ross Gorman told Judge Mr Cormac Quinn that while the company was currently unable to pay its debts, an independent expert was of the view that it could be saved through the appointment of an examiner.
The company had been incorporated back in November 2015, by directors Mr Paul Bowes and his daughter Ms Triona Bowes, both with an address at Mocklers Hill, Cashel, but the business had suffered financial trading difficulties, due mainly to the effect of the Covid Pandemic; forcing it to close from March to July of 2020. This closure had placed a significant impact on the company’s then turnover in 2020 which was approximately €495,000.
In 2018 the company had acquired Kilcoran Lodge Hotel for just under €1.68million funded through several Chinese investors under the immigration investment programme whereby non-EU nationals invest a minimum of €1million in an Irish business and in return obtain a residency visa in Ireland.
Judge Cormac Quinn stated that he would allow an application for the appointment of an examiner to be made today, December 17th 2021.
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