The legislative programme published by the Government lists the judicial council Bill for priority in this session. In the list of Bills to undergo pre-legislative scrutiny this session, the programme includes the judicial appointments Bill. I take it that these will be taken as two separate Bills. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has told us, via The Irish Times, that we have appointed the last judges under the old system and that no more judges will be appointed until the judicial appointments Bill has been passed into law.

Is it the case that there has been Cabinet agreement to that effect? Does it impact on the time we can spend critiquing and amending these important Bills? Is the Government seriously proposing to do nothing while vacancies accumulate in the Judiciary? Will trials be delayed in order that, first, the House can properly debate and examine the merits and demerits of the new system, second, the new regime is put in place and, third, the new appointees are put in place? Are we content that up to 12 months of leisurely refection should pass while at the same time we wait for a backlog of serious cases, certainly in our superior courts, to be denied justice?

"No" is the answer to that question.

That is very heartening. That is two Ministers in successive weeks.

The Attorney General has reported on the progress being made in respect of this difficult matter. There are quite a number of complex issues which the Attorney General is working through. Deputy Howlin will be aware from his time in government that vacancies were filled in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal was put in place and all other courts vacancies were filled. I understand there is a substantial backlog in the Court of Appeal and a case being made for a subset of that for further judicial appointments to deal with it.

So appointments are going ahead then.

This is an issue that concerns us. There are a relatively small number of appointments that need to be made now. The balance is against when the material relating to the appointment of a judicial council can be put together. Clearly, we cannot have a situation where, if this were to be delayed too long, cases would back up in every court. That is a matter we have to consider. The intention was that the last batch of judges to be appointed was to be the last under the old system. However, because there is no judicial appointments commission or judicial council in place, we do not want a situation either where the judicial system cannot work because of retirements or whatever.

I am not saying that now. We need to look at the progress being made so that we can possibly balance it.

On a point of order-----

What is the point of order?

Deputy O'Callaghan is quite literate and learned in the law. His Bill, which has been published, would solve the whole problem if the Government accepted it.