Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will make a few observations. I am open to considering amendment No. 92 further, but my sense is that it might be unconstitutional to restrict the Government to "only" the names provided to it. Given the next amendment that we will deal with, the approach being taken is to create an infrastructure in which, in terms of perception and practice, it is almost impossible - it is not constitutionally possible to make it impossible - to depart from the recommendations. As such, I am not in a position to support amendment No. 92.

Amendment No. 91 is an attempt to remove a provision that was made on foot of my own amendment. Deputy O'Callaghan made the case well. An appointment would not be undermined. The nature of the written notice would, to a large extent, outline the strengths of the appointee in meeting the criteria rather than the deficiencies of anyone else. I imagine the Government would be hesitant to do that, which is why the provision is in the Bill, but it still allows for the final decision to rest with the Government. That is a reasonable position to take.

Perhaps I have not fully understood the significance of amendments Nos. 84 and 85 and their relationship with what we discussed on Committee Stage. I had been minded to support them. Having considered the points that have been made on this Stage and Committee Stage, though, it is not unreasonable to expect that the process could be restarted at three-month intervals in order to fill positions. That is a normal procedure in many other areas of life. As matters stand, I am inclined to oppose these two amendments.

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