The Minister for Transport has said that judges should have to make an annual declaration of interests that would be publically inspectable.
Shane Ross said the current situation means it is not known if judges have a conflict of interests in trials they preside over.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Ross highlighted a case in which a judge was forced to withdraw midway through proceedings after it emerged he held shares pertinent to the case.
Mr Ross said the move would be part of a greater plan to reform the judiciary who, he said, had had “a charmed life since the foundation of the state”.
Mr Ross said he believed there would be resistance from the judiciary to a bill but added that, so far, there has been no political resistance to the proposal.
He said that he hoped to have the bill on the Dáil agenda by early next year.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive of Transparency Ireland John Devitt said he agrees with Mr Ross’s belief that has said that judges should declare their interests.,
Speaking to RTÉ’s Drivetime, Mr Devitt said that measures are needed to assure the public that members of the judiciary are living up to their oaths.
He said that registers, or declarations of interests are valuable assets in detecting wrong-doing and that judges should be asked to declare details including their assets, family home, personal savings and loans, including mortgages.
He said that some detail should be available to members of the public to view.
Mr Devitt added: "The Standards of Public Office Commission I would suggest would be the repository for this information. We would suggest that this information be filed electronically and it be made available on the internet so that the public can see it for themselves."
