A CORK businessman is finalising plans to launch a new political movement called the Reform Party, which will strive to reform the entire political system.

The new party has ambitious plans for a "democratic revolution" that will see the current system replaced with a new one where the president will "select the 15 best people he or she considers to run each government department." Michael Murphy, the man behind the party, hopes the new utopian political system will be in place within a 10- year period and the Reform Party will be disbanded immediately after these reforms have been implemented.

Murphy said: "We are trying to get a number of like-minded individuals together, with a reform-based consensus to start up a new political party. I am just an ordinary Joe Soap. I have never been involved in politics or a political party and no member of my family has either. I have no hidden agenda.

"The people behind this party are just like-minded individuals, who are ordinary decent working people. We all share huge anger over what has happened and none of us have any interest in protesting or throwing bricks at gardaí. We are anxious to create a momentum to introduce genuine reform in politics as we believe that the current system is not fit for purpose."

He added: "We need to completely dismantle the current system and completely rebuild a new democratic system. There is a great desire for change so we want to put forward candidates in the next general election and try to implement that change."

Details of the party will be announced in the coming weeks but the Sunday Tribune has obtained copies of some of the party's draft policy documents that reveal much about their plans.

The Reform Party is planning to have a new "slimmed down Dáil" with just 50 or 60 TDs. It also has a radical proposal to abolish the existing functions of the president and taoiseach and replace them with a new system.

Murphy said, "The new role of the president will be political and active as the head of state, similar to the US president. The people of Ireland will elect the President who will select the 15 best people he or she considers to run the 15 ministries."

All ministers will be proven, experience and successful performers in their respective field and the TDs will become the watchdog for the electorate."

The party also recommends getting rid of State cars for all politicians, except the President, and the Dáil sitting for five days a week.

As well as changes to the political system, the Reform party plans wider changes to other arms of the State, including the justice system.

Proposed changes to the justice system include a law whereby "any individual previously convicted of a serious crime forfeits the right to bail for any subsequent serious offence for which he is a suspect based on reasonable evidence provided by a Superintendent to a Judge.

Another proposal suggests that, "judges will increase the time spent hearing cases from four hours a day to eight hours a day, five days a week for 42 weeks a year. "

The party are expected to make further announcements about their radical plans in the coming weeks.