Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Ross on the publication of the Bill and bringing it before the House. It is a tribute to him and the work he has done on the issue.

I fully agree with Deputy Ross about the Minister’s absence from the House, especially when one sees the type of response that has obviously been drafted by him. It does not add anything to today’s debate. In his contribution the Minister referred to how in December he announced a public consultation process on the formulation of proposals for Cabinet on how to change judicial appointments. In the very next paragraph he made the point that he has already formed the view that the system of judicial appointments that is in operation is very much of its time. One could ask why he announced a public consultation process if he believes there is nothing wrong with the system and it works perfectly.

The Minister refers at another point to Deputy Ross’s spurious and disingenuous claims. The Minister is the king of spuriousness and disingenuousness because the tone and tenor of the response to the Bill smacks of that. The fact that the Minister would allow such a claim to be made in the House is disrespectful. The very least we could expect is that he would look at the legislation and provide a critique of it rather than being so rude in response to it.

See this speech in context