Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I note the comments of other Senators about the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention last weekend. I would support a debate in this House on the functioning of the convention, having attended two full sessions. I have put on the record my lack of confidence in the ability of the convention properly to tease out some complex issues.

I say that with the greatest of respect and appreciation for the hard work put in by the convention team. I do not have confidence in it or in its ability to properly facilitate a full and searching debate. I have extensive reasons for that, which I will happily put on record in the event of a debate going ahead.

Following the comments of Senator Darragh O'Brien on the Government's communication in the context of the Croke Park agreement and the decision of the public sector unions, communication is at the heart of the current dispute between the Executive and the Judiciary. While it is not a constitutional crisis, serious issues exist in respect of the Government's conduct towards the Judiciary, which has been characterised by a culture of spin going back to the meeting between the Chief Justice and the Taoiseach, which appears to have been leaked. I doubt very much that the contents of the meeting were leaked by the judges' side. I refer also to the very reasonable request the judges made that there be an independent mechanism to establish and regulate judges' pay. The constitutional protection we had, and still have to some extent, on judges' pay is a feature of-----