Results 1,501-1,520 of 18,726 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: I am not saying that he should not-----

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: So do I.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: When we reported progress last night we were in the process of discussing amendments Nos. 7 to 12, inclusive. I was speaking in particular about amendment No. 7 and I want to reiterate a few points I made, not at great length. Amendment No. 7 is effectively to substitute a new definition of the term "lay person" by adding a paragraph (d) to the existing definition. This paragraph (d) adds...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: I have no problem with that.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: That is one of the great mysteries.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: I am happy to explain that to the Senator. If he looks at paragraph (d), there are two parts to it and the first part states that a person is a lay person if he or she: "has never held or occupied, an office or position in a place outside the State equivalent to an office or position referred to in paragraph (a)or (b)". There is no time limit whatsoever on that. The amendment continues:...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: Correct.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: That seems to be the intent of the section. One requirement is that a person has never held a judicial or law officer position in a foreign jurisdiction. The second is that a person has never, in the last 15 years, practised as a solicitor or barrister in a foreign jurisdiction.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: I agree with Senator Mullen's point. There is a remarkable discordance, that one could ignore experience as a barrister or a solicitor if it was more than 15 years ago but in the case of a retired or former judge, one cannot ignore any period at any time in the past. It disqualifies the person completely. That was the point that I was trying to make and I hope that I was not unclear in...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: That is a point that Senator Mullen can make himself. Why was paragraph (d) cooked up? Who sat down and thought that this possible loophole had not been sealed off, that somebody with judicial experience abroad might crawl through a crack onto this commission at some stage, greatly to the detriment of the theory of the Minister, Deputy Ross, that this kind of person is never to be trusted...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: On the back of all of this, as we come to it at some stage over the next few months, the definition of a lay person is relevant in the sense that such a person could be appointed as a suitable person by the Public Appointments Service process and be agreed to by the two Houses of the Oireachtas. This filtration in paragraph (d) is remarkable, given that the only way lay persons, other than...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: -----misadventure or nod and wink operation into this commission. A lay person will never appear on this commission unless he or she goes through the evaluation and suitability tests which will be set out for lay persons. That is why I consider this such a gratuitous and pointless amendment. I have not heard any explanation of why it is necessary. What was wrong with the original...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: Deputy Mullen will take-----

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: Sorry, Senator Mullen. Perhaps Senators Mullen and-----

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: Senator Norris. I was going to call him Deputy Ross.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: Perhaps Senators Mullen and Norris will see this as a kind of original sin, the sin being that one ever knew anything about law.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: That is the original sin from which one needs redemption of 15 years in purgatory. Alternatively, it could be that from the very beginning one is damned because one wore a judge's robe. Those are my objections to the paragraph proposed in amendment No. 7. The Minister has not told us why it is necessary to close this "loophole", especially in light of the fact that a lay person would have...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: I was just going to examine the matter. An eminent colleague of mine asked why we were waiting, why we were delayed. I said it was because the judge on whom we were waiting was charging a jury. This colleague said to me he had never heard of this and asked what was going on. I suggested he put his nose in. He came out a couple of minutes later and said, "That is amazing." It just struck...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: That is because the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity decided to confirm that bauble on Senator Norris.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2019)

Michael McDowell: One could be a doctor of law, not honoris causa, and could be considered a layperson for this Bill. However, the person's big sin is that if he or she pokes his or her nose inside a court for a couple of years, that person is tainted forever. It is ridiculous and it should not be permitted to be part of our law.