Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their presentations. I support Senator Craughwell on that point. I firmly believe the representative associations should be members of the oversight body. That is without question and this committee should fully back that proposal. It cannot function properly as an oversight body without the representative associations having full membership.

I would be interested in the Chair's and Senator McDowell's guidance on this matter as they are both former Ministers for Justice. It relates to head 25(a), which amends section 2 of the Defence (Amendment) Act 1990 by inserting a new subsection. Under this, the director of military prosecutions, a military judge or - this is important - "any post as may be prescribed by the Minister" may be precluded from being a member of a military association. That is quite open to abuse. I ask the Chair and, through him, Senator McDowell to comment on this. Judges of the District Court, Circuit Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and Supreme Court are members of a representative body. Does that mean all judges should be precluded from being members of a representative body on the basis that they may have to judge one of their colleagues or former colleagues? It makes absolutely no sense. I agree with our colleague from ICTU. If this is put into primary legislation, where does it stop? I would be interested in that. Judges have a representative body of which they are all members. Should they be precluded from being members of a representative body because they may at some stage have to judge another member of that body?