Irish judges not convinced all appointments made on merit
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Only 48 per cent of Irish judges believe all appointments to the bench over the past two years were made on merit, according to research published in a new European report.
The European Network of Councils for the Judiciary surveyed 60 of Ireland’s 168 judges for its latest Report on Independence, Accountability and Quality of the Judiciary.
In response to the statement “I believe judges in my country have been appointed other than on the basis of ability and experience during the last two years”, 30 per cent of surveyed judges agreed and 48 per cent disagreed, while 22 per cent were not sure.
By comparison, only 18 per cent of surveyed judges in the UK agreed and 66 per cent disagreed, with 16 per cent not sure.
A quarter of Irish judges felt pay cuts had affected their independence, but 48 per cent disagreed and 27 per cent were unsure.
A quarter also felt changes in pensions had affected their independence, with 38 per cent disagreeing and 37 per cent not sure.
However, asked to rank judges in Ireland from 0-10, judges surveyed in Ireland gave an excellent average rating of 9.1.
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