Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes. The three other judgments were delivered by more conservative members of the Supreme Court.We must remember that when the Government - and it is only the Government that can do so under the Constitution - decides who should or should not be appointed to the Supreme Court, it is making political decisions. It is pointless to pretend otherwise. I am in the happy position of having been a member of the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board for three years in my capacity as Attorney General and having been Minister for Justice for the following five years. I had eight years continuous involvement in the appointment of judges, and I know that when it came to appointments to the Supreme Court, the issues that were considered by the Cabinet were not party political issues. They were much more concerned with the outlook and the philosophy of the people who were put there. Catherine McGuinness was not appointed to the Supreme Court because she was a woman, but rather because she was a woman of liberal intent and perspective.