Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure if the Minister, Deputy Ross, in his crusade to radically shake-up the way we appoint judges, is aware that the Government seems to be determined to hang on to the ultimate power to appoint judges itself. If he votes in favour of amendments Nos. 84 and 85, he would be voting to leave the status quo, which he has crusaded to change, essentially intact. As Deputy O'Callaghan said at the committee, if the Government or anyone else was really interested in reforming judicial appointments, it would be pushing for a referendum on the issue, not window dressing by way of statute that gives the impression that there will be reform.

Furthermore, the Government is looking to get rid of the little bit of accountability we managed to insert into that process in committee with a Sinn Féin amendment to the effect that if the Government appoints someone the commission has not recommended or someone the commission has rejected, it would have to publish a reasoned written explanation as to the reason in Iris Oifigiúil. Amendment No. 97 is the one that looks to do this and should be completely resisted. That provision is completely innocuous and there is no way on God's earth that there could be any constitutional issue with it.

The Government's amendment No. 99 wants to get rid of the obligation on the Minister, if he or she appoints someone not appointed by the commission, to lay before the Houses a written explanation of the reason.

In the UK, for example, the Lord Chancellor only receives one name. He can either accept it or reject it on suitability grounds but if he rejects it, it goes back to the commission. He is not pulling a name out of a hat.

There has been much talk about reducing political influence but the legislation we will be left with at the end of this process will not be as good as what we had previously. There will be more political interference as a result of this new Bill. As I said previously, I do not believe for a second that the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, agrees with this legislation.

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