The report, co-authored by Dr Rónán Kennedy, Dr Laura Cahillane, Doireann Ansbro and Saoirse Enright, analyses the implementation of the Judicial Council Act 2019 two years after its commencement.

It finds concern among judges about the “lack of time and resources” available for training, with a limited number of overworked judges forced to treat training as “an ‘extra’ to be done at evenings and weekends”.

Ireland has the lowest number of judges per capita of any EU member state.

The report, published yesterday by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), the University of Limerick and NUI Galway, with funding from the Irish Research Council, says the UK is comparatively ahead of Ireland.

Judges in the UK “receive guarantees of protected time to complete education and training courses,” the report states. “It differs by jurisdiction but generally speaking there is the expectation, certainly of salaried judges, that they avail of their protected time and attend judicial college courses. Training take-up is also monitored which promotes attendance.”

Commenting on the report, Dr Kennedy said: “The need for fully-resourced judicial training is clear, with many judges taking time off and self-funding training up until now. If Ireland is to have a world-class judicial system, we must properly resource and embed training for our judiciary.”

The report also examines other areas covered by the 2019 Act, including judicial conduct and ethics. Its recommendations include the immediate production of guidelines for the Oireachtas in cases where the Judicial Council recommends removal of a judge.

Dr Cahillane said: “At this stage it’s necessary that the Oireachtas decide on and publish a process for what to do when removal of a judge is recommended. An opportunity to do so was missed with the Judicial Council Act, but it can and should still be done now.”

Ms Ansbro added: “While it’s great to see the advances brought in by the Judicial Council Act, we need to be cautious that the practices which come in as a result are in line with international best practice. We would be concerned that the complaints process should be more transparent and provide real clarity for both the judiciary and complainants.”