Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is hard to follow that one. I will go back to the issue at stake. The Minister is correct that there are aspirations regarding the encouragement of gender equality and diversity throughout the Bill. The difference between an aspiration and what Deputy Ó Laoghaire is trying to do is that the amendment provides a lot more meat. I put it to the Minister that amendment No. 3 is very carefully crafted to do exactly that because it is subject always to the merit principle but it means that we are not just paying lip service to gender and diversity, we are putting it up to the commission to encourage more people to be nominated as judges by requiring at least one person in such a category to be appointed. I agree with that. To me that is the judicial equivalent of gender quotas for political parties. At the time when that idea was put forward I thought it was nonsense and I was of the view that it would just pay lip service to the issue and that we would get inadequate people, but the reality has proven that to be an incredibly positive measure which has meant more women have come through into the Parliament and that in and of itself has had a knock-on effect on the type of Parliament we have. It might not be perfect but it is more diverse than it used to be, so we are getting there. This measure is the judicial equivalent of that and we need to put it up to the commission that it has to deliver recommendations that encourage women and reflect diversity in society. That is an issue women need to look at because the real problem here is that there are very few people from working class communities of Dublin or the pauperised rural communities who end up as members of the Judiciary. Generally speaking, they come from the barrister profession and it is very difficult to become a barrister if one does not have parents to support one in all those years when one does not get paid. We must tackle those issues. We must define diversity. It is not just a case of being gay or black. It is primarily a class issue and that needs to be reflected. Amendment No. 3 is a very good step in that direction and it is carefully crafted. The Minister should accept it because it is important for all the other aspects also.

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