The Government is at the centre of a new appointments controversy with the revelation that the Taoiseach and other Cabinet Ministers lobbied the Minister for Justice on behalf of applicants for judicial posts in both the District and Circuit Courts.
The opposition parties last night called for changes in the judicial appointments procedure after it emerged that Mr Ahern and seven other Cabinet Ministers have made representations for bench positions to Mr O'Donoghue since May 1998.
The Taoiseach has confirmed that he made written submissions to Mr O'Donoghue on behalf of people interested in judicial posts in the District Court and Circuit Court.
However, a spokesman for Mr Ahern denied the move amounted to "cronyism", or that a recommendation from the Taoiseach carried more weight than from anybody else.
"All such representations are forwarded to civil servants in the courts division of the Department of Justice. It is always made clear by way of reply that the Judicial Appointments Advisory Body makes the recommendation to the Minister," he said.
The spokesman said the procedure was transparent. "It is as transparent as it can be at the moment. Any representation to the Minister for Justice is dealt with by his civil servants and not by the Minister himself."
Documents obtained by the Sunday Independent under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that Mr Ahern; the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen; the Minister for Public Enterprise, Mrs O'Rourke; the Minister for Education, Dr Woods; the Minister for Tourism and Sport, Dr McDaid; the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern; the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Island, Ms de Valera; and the former minister for foreign affairs, Mr David Andrews, were among 38 people who made representations to Mr O'Donoghue since May 1998 in respect of appointments to the District Court.
A further seven representations were made in respect of Circuit Court judges. The majority of the representations came from Fianna Fail TDs.
The Judicial Appointments Advisory Board was established under the Court and Court Officers Act 1995 to advise the Government on appointing suitable candidates for judicial office.
After public advertisement of a vacancy the board supplies the minister of the day with a list of up to seven recommended candidates. This list goes before the cabinet for approval. The government may, however, decide to nominate somebody outside the recommendations of the board.
Both Fine Gael and Labour yesterday expressed their concern at the revelations.
Mr Jim Mitchell of Fine Gael said the power to make judicial appointments should be completely taken away from the government. "There should be absolutely no political influence when it comes to these type of appointments," he added.
Mr Mitchell said it should be the President who recommended to the government an appointment to the Bench. Under the Constitution, the President formally appoints judges on the recommendation of the Government. A Dail committee should also have the power to ask questions of a proposed candidate, he said.
The Labour Party deputy leader, Mr Brendan Howlin, said he would like to see the list of recommended names coming from the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board to government reduced from seven. "That is too broad a list."
He said the fact that so many Ministers had been writing to Mr O'Donoghue on behalf of individuals interested in judicial posts was of concern. "It reduces the whole system of appointment of judges to the lobbying system."
Mr Howlin said he would like to see a ban on representations being made for court jobs once a person had officially applied for a post.
The Minister for Social, Family and Community Affairs, Mr Ahern, confirmed yesterday that he had made representations about a constituent "on behalf of a third party" in relation to a District Court vacancy. Mr Ahern said the representation had been unsuccessful.
The Minister for Public Enterprise, Mrs O'Rourke, confirmed she "wrote a character reference" for a solicitor who was seeking a judicial appointment.