Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I listened to the Minister and to the Sinn Féin representative speak on my amendment No. 6. but I have not heard any valid explanation of their contention that it is inappropriate. I would like to speak to the amendment again and remind Members of its contents. Unlike the Government, I do not think there should be 17 people on the commission. We must remember that the function of this commission is to advise the Government on the appointment of approximately eight to ten people to judicial office each year. It is an advisory board. When one sets up an advisory board, one wants it to give one advice based on its expertise and for that reason, one puts individuals on it who have knowledge of a particular area. I carefully drafted this amendment to ensure that there was no particular majority of any one group. There are five members of the Judiciary on my proposed commission of 11 people. There is no judicial majority. There are four lay people nominated by four respected entities in Irish society with knowledge of the courts. The lay people do not have a majority on the commission. There are two members of the legal profession on the commission because as I mentioned previously, the only people who can be appointed as judges in this country are lawyers. That being the case, it makes sense to have people on the commission who are aware of how lawyers work. If one wants to determine whether an individual is going to be suitable for judicial appointment, one should not just look at his or her curriculum vitae which takes a few hours to draft, but at his or her 20 years of experience working as a lawyer. That will give one a better indication of what type of judge he or she will make. The commission proposed in my amendment does not contain a majority of any individuals. Unfortunately, Deputy Ó Laoghaire has fallen for the language of Deputy Ross. He has said that he is in favour of a "lay majority". In stating that, Sinn Féin is accepting that judges are members of the legal profession but they are not and it is disrespectful of judges to say that. We are missing the point if we do not recognise that no group should have a majority, irrespective of the personal wishes of any Minister.

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