Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I merely say to the Members opposite that I appeal for calm. It is important that we have a constructive debate on the merits of the amendments. I acknowledge the good work by all members of the committee on many aspects of the Bill. I believe that everyone is agreed that on Committee Stage we were left with a document that was far from perfect. The purpose of the various Stages of debate is to improve on issues, if we can. I hope that over the next few weeks we can reintroduce the spirit of constructive engagement that we had on Committee Stage for a number of weeks, oftentimes outside of the spotlight of the media, and that we can work in the way we need to ensure we can have improved legislation. Although it might seem strange, given the last hour's debate, it is my firm belief that there is not much between us. We can go through the more than 100 amendments to see how best we can reform the system in the way that life in 2018 deserves, and that we can modernise the manner in which judges are appointed. Ultimately, under the Constitution, this will be a matter for the Government. We are not changing the Constitution and we are not advocating a change to the Constitution. We are ensuring that we modernise our legislation in a way that brings about a greater level of transparency to the system.

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