Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is a man of his word. What he has just announced is heartening but still leaves an element of doubt, which is regrettable. In respect of Attorney Generals taking advice from other eminent senior counsel, I long for the day when an Attorney General will actually publish its advice for the country to see and tell us which eminent counsel provided assistance. I get very tired of these people in the shadows who we never know. We do not see what they are saying and we must continue to act on the basis of accepting what they say. The bottom line is that we need to radically change the way we do business in this country. If an Attorney General is appointed by the State to offer legal advice, there is no reason why that legal advice should not be made public - Cabinet confidentiality be damned. Let us see the advice. For every barrister the Minister of State can cite with an opinion, I can cite one with a counter opinion. In the end, we rely on the lawyers to made a decision, which is no way to do business.