Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 March 2017
114. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 124 of 24 January 2017, the number of the 22 permanent District Court judges who are permanently assigned to that district; the length of time each of the 22 judges sits in the court area that they previously practised in; and the length of time that each of the 22 practised as a solicitor in that district. [14553/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware, permanent and temporary assignments in the District Court are provided for under Schedule 6 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961, as amended. All serving District Court Judges who have been assigned to a District are currently permanently assigned.
The Deputy will appreciate that the only information in the possession of the Minister, from which it might be possible to obtain the facts sought by the Deputy, would be documentation submitted by applicants to the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board which was subsequently provided by JAAB to Government in the course of the judicial appointment process. Thus the additional information requested by the Deputy regarding the length of time each judge sits in the court area that they previously practised in and the length of time they practised law in that district cannot be provided as Section 20 of the Courts and Court Officers Act 1995 provides that "all proceedings of the Board and all communications to the Board shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed expect for the purposes of this Act".
