Results 2,241-2,260 of 18,755 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: Perhaps the principle behind my amendment could be addressed by including the words "shall be deemed to be recommended to any judicial office of the same type where the vacancy arises within three years" or something of that nature in the Bill. I would be happy to go along with such a wording. The principle of what I am talking about, however, is, again, to make the system work. It is...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: I was not quite clear there. Is the Minister saying he is open to the idea of the commission ranking the shortlist?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: Am I clear that the Minister is opposed to the commission stating this is its shortlist of three with a ranking of one, two and three? Is this what the Minister is saying?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: Is this in an amendment the Minister is thinking of tabling on Report Stage?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: It is not possible at present I think unless-----

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: The point is that is-----

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: As Senator Norris says in a disorderly manner, that is not in the Bill.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: That is not in the Bill as I understand it at the moment. Unless the Minister proposes to amend the Bill to allow for this, the commission has no function as I see it in selecting people in a particular order. Of course, this is of some significance because if it will operate on a consensus basis that is one thing but if it is going to be taking votes on who appears as numbers one, two and...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: This is fairly important because I had understood until this afternoon - and the Bill has been on Committee Stage for some considerable period as we are all well aware - that the shortlist was to be an inordinated shortlist, one in which three names appeared without any signal to the Government as to which was the most preferred, the second most preferred and the third most preferred...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: Right, I had missed that.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: I stand corrected by the Minister. I had forgotten about the subsection in section 40. Owing to his stated opposition to Senator Bacik's amendment, I had assumed there was not a process of ordering the list in accordance with the commission's preference. To return to the question of members of the commission being placed at number three rather than number one in the order of preference....

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: Just leaving it to the commission to make up its own mind is hardly satisfactory. If the purpose of this legislation is to have a transparent process and one is going to say that the commission is obliged to give an order of preference, surely that information must be available to the people recommended, or not, as a matter of law, not just as a matter of the commission's discretion? If I...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: I think the Senator is saying that the section 53(5)(h) does not deal with the point that I made. To return to section 40(2), to which the Minister drew our attention a moment ago, it is very clear. It states: "Where this subsection applies, the Commission shall [not may] in accordance with this Act, recommend to the Minister, in respect of the judicial office concerned, the names of 3...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: The commission is not entitled to give an unranked recommendation. It must rank if section 40(2) means anything.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: Is the Minister willing to accept an amendment to the amendment in order to deal with the time issue?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: Yes.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: I will press it because I believe strongly that the Bill would be improved by this amendment. Even if it does require further tweaking at a later point, that can be done on Report Stage.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: My position is simple. My amendment would improve the Bill dramatically. If there is further tweaking to be done, that is what Report Stage is all about.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 93c:In page 31, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following:“47. It shall be the duty of the Commission to notify every person who has applied to the Commission to be considered for recommendation for appointment to any judicial office as to whether or not such person has been so recommended by the Commission in accordance with the provisions of this...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: -----approach to the issue? If we expect unsuccessful and successful candidates to be told whether they have been short-listed, we should instruct the commission through the legislation that this is the policy it is to apply. It only makes sense. Imagine dealing with the scenario we discussed earlier. The President of the High Court has recused himself from the process and allowed his...