Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

It is a matter of judgment. For instance, there are lawyers on the Refugee Appeals Tribunal, since deciding who is entitled to protection under the Geneva Convention is a complex process. If one is listening to a proposal that someone's remission, which can be up to a quarter of his or her sentence, be forfeit because of an incident, one should have a very clear grasp of the law, since I have no doubt that such matters will be subject to legal challenge through the courts. On an issue of such importance, it is good to have someone who will not make elementary legal blunders and land us with a judicial review.