asked the Minister for Justice if in view of the fact that after the 1st April, 1961, there will be twenty-seven permanent district justices to deal with twenty-three district court districts, he will give an assurance to the House that no further temporary district justices will be appointed unless for some special reason.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Temporary District Justices.
7.
After the 1st April next, there will be 31 Justices assigned to districts, of whom twenty-three will be assigned to districts outside Dublin and eight to the Dublin Metropolitan District. There will, in addition, be four movable Justices to act as substitutes or provide assistance as required.
As I indicated in reply to a previous Question by the Deputy, no temporary Justices will, so far as can be foreseen at present, be required in the period following the 1st April. Only actual experience of the new arrangements will, however, prove whether four movable Justices will be adequate at all times. The need for additional assistance will be kept under review, and if necessary, the manner in which such assistance should be provided will be considered by the Government.
Would the Minister agree that, in principle, it is not a desirable thing to have temporary appointees in judicial positions and that it is preferable, even at some cost, to ensure that persons discharging judicial function hold their appointments by the customary tenure of judicial office?
The wisdom of carrying a number of district justices who would be superfluous to the requirements of the courts is very doubtful. That would be something that the House should be allowed to consider very seriously. When vacation time comes along or when illness strikes, these are the periods when we have to appoint temporary district justices. The period could be very short, but in the case of the men who will be going on the 1st April, some of them have been there for several months. However, I do not think the course of appointing temporary justices would be one that I would recommend anyhow.