Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is not the eleventh hour, as Deputy Daly said. Any suggestion this is being rushed through would be doing the Chair a disservice. We are anxious to ensure there is proper and adequate time for debate and proper and adequate scope to ensure that every section of the Bill is considered fully. My difficulty with this particular amendment is that it is mandatory. Deputy Wallace states in his amendment that "[t]he Government shall nominate for appointment one of the three persons recommended by the relevant committee in accordance with subsection (2)." To my mind that conflicts with a constitutional requirement that the Government must, under our Constitution, remain free to choose any of the persons or to choose a person other than from among the names recommended by the commission. That is the prerogative of Government under our Constitution.

Reference was made to the international stage. If we examined practices in other countries referred to by the Deputies, we would also see a choice from among a number of recommended candidates. That will be the position here, having regard to our Constitution. A number of names would be considered, as recommended by the commission. The President would then be advised, under the Constitution, as to the position of Government as far as those recommendations are concerned. Anything that would narrow that is constitutionally unsound and I am unable to recommend acceptance of it.