Results 3,381-3,400 of 18,727 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: I have one or two questions. I will be very brief.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: Could the Minister give this House an absolute assurance that regardless of the timeframe, be it a year, two years, 18 months or nine months, the Government will not in any sense refrain from appointing more judges? When I say more judges, I mean appointing judges to vacancies that are there at the moment or that will naturally occur during that period due to roll-over in judicial terms....

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: Will the Minister also deal with the question of the anticipated remuneration of members of the commission?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: In aid of the Minister, section 47 provides: "The name of a person may be the subject of a recommendation to the Minister by the Commission notwithstanding that the person is a member of the Commission, but this is without prejudice to the following provisions of this section." Subsection (3) provides: "The person shall take no part in the performance by the Commission of the particular...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: No.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: I think they are dealing with slightly different topics. One is to do with expenses and the other is to do with-----

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: They are not really related at all.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: I believe they should be taken separately.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: I also strongly support Senator Higgins's amendment. Unlike Senator Norris, I do not think any differentiation can be properly made between lay members and non-lay members, be they judges, practising lawyers or the Attorney General for that matter, for the reason that it is not the function of the average barrister to conduct appointment interviews. Perhaps solicitors do it a bit more often...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: They would of course be quite good at choosing good lawyers over bad lawyers but one of the very important points about this procedure is that everyone has to feel equally at home with the process if and when they are interviewed. The people conducting the process have to understand that interviews have to be conducted with rigid fairness and not give some people the idea that they are on...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 29:In page 12, to delete lines 8 to 28. This amendment proposes the deletion of subsections (7) to (10), inclusive, of section 11. It is important to examine what is proposed here and to be very clear about what we are being asked to legislate for by the Minister. Subsection (7) reads: The Commission may as it considers necessary to assist it in the performance of its...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: It is a very convoluted section. In paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (8), the idea is that consultants or advisers could, if the Minister consented, be appointed to advise and assist the judicial appointments commission in its consideration of applicants at a preliminary stage in the course of the selection procedures. What is the preliminary stage? We are not told, but presumably it...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: I am sure we will. It goes on:(9) The Commission may, out of the resources at its disposal, pay to a person, consultant or adviser referred to in subsection (7) such fees (if any) or allowances for expenses (if any) as the Commission may, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, determine. (10) The appointment of a person as a consultant or...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: They could be HR people, inclusiveness experts or diversity experts but we do not know.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: They could be garage men or taxi drivers - we have no idea who is eligible to be appointed. Their function is to advise and assist the commission in its consideration of applicants at a preliminary stage in the course of the selection procedures. I do not understand how that can function. If there is a competition for the appointment of a High Court judge, the commission can get KPMG,...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: Like the draftsman of the second paragraph of-----

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: Let us be fair to the draftsman.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: How could an expert person start short-listing people for consideration by the commission? Where does that come from? Why should we permit it? If we go to all the bother of trying to ensure there is diversity on the judicial appointments commission, having appointed people who are supposed to take diversity into account, how can we allow them to appoint consultants who are free to evaluate...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: I would have thought that if we are going to quit the JAAB process on the grounds that it was unsatisfactory, especially in respect of handling large numbers of applications and sending large numbers of recommendations to the Government, and if one is going to whittle down 120 applications to be a District Court judge ultimately to three, why is it that some outside body will enable the...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: Exactly. What are we talking about here, and why should we tolerate this? The objections I have, and I believe they are well merited, are as follows. First, the commission is being given a broad licence to delegate an important part of its function, namely, assessment at a preliminary stage and further evaluation as to suitability, to a third party that is not a member of the commission and...