Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this very controversial issue. I do not question the ability of the former Attorney General, Máire Whelan, to fulfil her new position in any way, and I am sure the majority of people will agree with me on that. However, the process of the appointment of Máire Whelan to the Court of Appeal, the second highest court in this land, was nothing less than corrupt. The Courts and Court Officers Act 1995 sets out a clear procedure for the process of applying for judicial positions through the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board. Had Máire Whelan applied for this position through the JAAB and been duly granted a position, I do not think we would have any raised eyebrows. It was the fact the former Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, and his Cabinet wanted to secure one last stroke for their friends that it has raised eyebrows. It is a case of jobs for the boys, and the girls, in this case.

This morning, I was back in my constituency of Cork South-West, at a function, and every single person who spoke to me about this issue felt the very same way, that this appointment was rotten and another example of cronyism alive and well in Ireland. We are less than a week into the new Taoiseach's leadership and I am sure he did not imagine such a baptism of fire. The Taoiseach himself said he knew this appointment was a possibility the night before it happened. If so, I ask the Tánaiste why he did not put a halt to it then. In the Government formation talks a few weeks ago, the Taoiseach spoke and sought the support of many Independents, but he did not contact me. This led me to make the decision that I could not support the Taoiseach, and now I am very glad I voted against him last Wednesday following the events of recent days. This is not the new politics about which the Tánaiste and her Government so fondly speak.

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