Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Taoiseach will agree that accountability should be central to everything we do in this House. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste should be prepared to come to the House to answer in detail for their actions relating to the appointment of the former Attorney General to the Court of Appeal. It is an appointment which has been without precedent since 1995 and the 1995 Act, despite their disingenuous attempts to portray it otherwise. Section 18 of that Act was simply not adhered to and the law was circumvented. There is no question about that. The Taoiseach indicated yesterday, a week on from the controversy, that, the night before, he was aware of the possibility of an appointment being made on the basis that everyone knew there was a vacancy. Everybody knew there was a vacancy since March of last year. The Taoiseach is reserving the right to do it all over again by using the Constitution as his defence, because any new Act can be trumped by the Constitution and Article 1 in the future.

Today, we learned that Ministers were critical about the appointment at yesterday's Cabinet meeting. Behind closed doors, they said it should not have been dealt with in the manner it was dealt with at Deputy Enda Kenny's last Cabinet meeting. I do not know whether the Minister, Deputy Shane Ross, got his review at yesterday's meeting. There was an acknowledgement at Cabinet, apparently, that it was badly handled. Why was it done so secretly and in such a covert manner? Why did Deputy Enda Kenny engineer this appointment in this way? Why did the Tánaiste collaborate with him in doing so with the Taoiseach's acquiescence?

As I asked on Wednesday last and, indeed, asked the Taoiseach on Sunday evening last, did anybody consider the Fennelly report and its findings in relation to this appointment and to the Attorney General at the time?

The Dáil should have an opportunity to debate this and to ask questions. Yesterday on the Order of Business, I thought we had got an agreement that would happen. The Government side fought tenaciously to resist questions. I am glad to hear that there is some change in that direction but it needs to be a comprehensive question and answer session, involving the Taoiseach and, indeed, the Tánaiste.

The Taoiseach invoked the separation of powers yesterday and that was bogus. In 1994, there was an open session here in relation to the appointment of Mr. Harry Whelehan to the High Court with full questions and answers taken by the then Taoiseach. That was a bogus invocation of that.

I do not know why the Taoiseach is so reluctant to come to the House to answer detailed questions in relation to it. Does he agree with his Ministers' assessment that this was badly handled? Does the Taoiseach accept that he essentially ignored all the Opposition's concerns about this appointment and that he rammed it through on Sunday evening to avoid accountability to the House? Did anyone raise the Fennelly report when this appointment was going through the Cabinet?

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