Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks" is a quote from Hamlet, which has been around now for 400 years. It is still referenced today because it is very pertinent and true. It is also relevant to this debate. Although the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Charles Flanagan, is in the Chamber the driving force behind this Bill is undoubtedly his Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross. His rationale for this legislation is that he wants to take on the judges and, as per his rationale in regard to other crusades on which he has been on during his time in politics, to take on the establishment, do away with the insider appointments and shake things up. This is the constant theme behind what drives the Minister, Deputy Shane Ross, in politics. I wonder if the Minister doth protest too much because having been a Member of the Seanad for many years since the early 1980s he is not exactly an outsider. Indeed, he would qualify as an archetypal insider. One wonders why it is he wants to rail against others and constantly protests that he is not an insider.

The Minister, Deputy Shane Ross, is also the leader of the Independent group. During the election campaigns in 2011 and 2016 there was such a surge of support for the Independents they told everyone when they were elected they would seek to change politics for the better and deliver for the public. Following the last general election many of them got their opportunity to enter Government but they decided not to do so and they scattered four sheets to the wind. In fairness, the Minister, Deputy Shane Ross, and some of his colleagues stepped up to the mark and decided to go into government.

One year on, as we come to the end of this Dáil term, what does the Minister have to show for himself? What legislation are the Independents in government choosing to expedite with their political capital? It is the Bill dealing with the way in which judges are appointed with which we are dealing today and which took up a good deal of Dáil time last week. As the Minister and I both know, that issue was not raised in the general election campaign, nor was it seen as a problem by many of the electorate, yet for the Minister, it is the one item of legislation on which he is hanging his hat. As such, it is his signature piece.

Ireland has made a very strong bid to host the Rugby World Cup. We are told by the Minister concerned that the legislation to enable that to happen is very important. We will deal with it before the end of this Dáil term, but why was it not prioritised by the Minister, instead of the legislation before the House?

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