Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Section 46 deals with interviews only but the addition of “has completed any other selection process” seems to have been taken from section 50, which works on its own. The intention is to make sure that everybody not just goes through interview but comes through the selection process. If we look at the functions of the commission, section 10 states: “The general functions of the Commission shall be ... to select and recommend persons ... and ... to adopt a statement of selection procedures”, so there cannot be one without the other. It is clearly stated in section 10 that the commission's job will be not just to recommend the persons but that they must go through the selection procedures. The element of the interview was only added in the last round of amendments to add that extra layer, so it will not in any way remove the need for that selection process.

One of the key considerations of this Bill is that anybody who applies has to go through the same process, so it will not be the case that someone can skip the selection process, go straight to interview and potentially end up as one of the three. That is why section 10 provides that the functions are to “recommend persons ... and”, so it must be the selection process as well.