asked the Minister for Justice if he will state the name and qualifications of every person appointed to the position of Circuit Court judge or temporary Circuit Court judge since the 19th February, 1948, stating in each case whether the person so appointed stood at any time as a candidate for election to Dáil Éireann; and, if so, the name of the political Party which sponsored such candidature.

Four permanent Circuit Court judges, namely, Judges Roe, Conroy, Binchy and Durcan, have been appointed in the period since the 19th February, 1948. Before being appointed permanent judges, Judges Conroy, Binchy and Durcan each acted for a time as a temporary judge, these being the only temporary appointments to the Circuit Court Bench made in the period mentioned.

All four judges possessed the qualifications prescribed by Section 43 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924, that is to say, they were at the date of appointment practising barristers of not less than ten years' standing.

My Department has no information in regard to the matters referred to in the second part of the question.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that it is common knowledge that Judge Durcan is a relative of the Minister for External Affairs? I would like to know if that is the principal qualification for this patronage appointment?

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that the pre-dominant qualification possessed by Judge Durcan was a knowledge of Western Irish?

And he was a Clann na Poblachta candidate, too.

I suppose that is something new? Did that never happen before?