David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

We are coming up to an amendment very soon - it is about the third or fourth one - which says that a member of the public may discuss with a barrister non-controversial or non-contentious items. How bizarre can one get? One talks to a lawyer because one wants him or her to do something about a controversy that is raging and one is involved in legal proceedings. One does not go to a senior counsel and say: "Isn't it a nice day? Look at the clouds in the sky and the little patches of blue. But I don't want to talk to you about the action that I'm involved in, in which you're representing me." It is like saying that Seanad Éireann can discuss anything it likes of a non-political nature.