Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

My amendment No. 151 is trying to do the same thing as Deputy Wallace's. We are trying to plug the holes in the Bill. As currently constituted, the Government can bypass the recommendations of the commission and nominate whomever it likes. We are trying to stop that. I thought the whole idea behind the commission was the independence of judicial appointments. As currently structured, the Bill provides that the Government shall "firstly" consider for appointment those persons whose names have been recommended by the commission. My amendment provides that "firstly" would be changed to "only". There is no constitutional conflict or anything like it. It is an eligibility point relating to the recommendation of the commission and I do not see the problem with it.