asked the Minister for Justice if he will endeavour to arrange for the exemption from jury service of commercial travellers and those engaged in the cattle trade, as such service causes inordinate interference with business.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Jury Service.
The persons and classes of persons exempted from jury service are specified in the First Schedule to the Juries Act, 1927, and there can be no further exemptions without fresh legislation.
I sympathise with persons or classes on whom the obligation of jury service imposes particular hardship but the present law was framed in the interests of the community as a whole after the most careful consideration of what is a very intricate problem and I am afraid that any attempt to amend it in the interests of a particular class would create more problems than it would solve and open the door to claims by other sections which it would be very difficult to resist.