Donegal barrister nominated as a new District Court judge

A Letterkenny woman is one of the first people nominated to the judiciary under a new appointments system.

Barrister Ms Emile Daly BL, is one of six nominated to the District Court.

Ms Daly has been a practising barrister for over 25 years.

She has a BCL degree from UCD and a BL degree from the Kings Inns.

A former vice chair of the Employment Appeals Tribunal, she is a current Adjudicator at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

Ms Daly is one of six lawyers nominated for appointment to fill District Court vacancies alongside solicitors Valerie Corcoran, Liz Healy and Catherine Ryan, and fellow barristers Karen Dowling BL and Áine Shannon BL.

After the establishment of the Judicial Appointments Commission in January, only candidates recommended by the commission can be nominated by the Government for appointment by the President.

The Act provides for the biggest reform in thirty years in how judges are chosen for appointment and the Commission is chaired by the chief justice and includes both judges and lay members.

The Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan said: “The system for judicial appointment in Ireland is a crucial mechanism to uphold the independence of the judiciary, which is a central element of Ireland’s constitutional framework.

“The new Act and the work of the Judicial Appointments Commission ensures a rigorous, transparent, and merit-based application process for nomination as a judge.”