Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is. The commentators who criticise the judicial appointments process always qualify their comments by saying the current complement of judges are excluded, that they have acted well and been independent and that there is no evidence to suggest there is any untoward action or political bias. They are having it both ways. Equally, the recent comment by the Association of Judges of Ireland, that it was a success, in spite of, rather than because of, the appointments process, was equally hypocritical. It is criticising the people and the process that selected them, yet it is correlating with the statement that they are an absolute success. That does not make sense. That is its comment, but for me it does not add up.

Most of the questions I wanted to ask have been covered. The three delegates have detailed knowledge of the current complement of judges. I will not ask them to refer to individuals because it would not be appropriate to do so.