Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I speak broadly in support of the Bill at this Stage. I will be brief as I know we will have many contributions. This legislation has been controversial, and a large number of amendments were tabled in the Dáil. Many of those have ironed out some of the more contentious issues, but others remain. There is a valuable discussion to be had in terms of the size of the commission and ensuring that the number of members does not make it unwieldy. This was an issue in the Dáil and I am sure it is something that may be worked at on Committee Stage here.Some technical amendments are also planned on Committee Stage that can clean up some of the discrepancies arising from the debate in the Dáil. Most seem sensible and I will support them.

In a wider sense, we should welcome the broad goal of the Bill. I am supportive of opening up the process of how judges are appointed, especially as this will still ultimately be an advisory board. We are not putting the selection of judges to a public vote.

The Bill is about ensuring that the advice given to the Government when appointing new members of the Judiciary does not come only from the legal profession. We are trying to capture the voices and perspectives of wider society and walks of life. As my colleague, Senator Ruane, has mentioned, I am thinking in particular of people who have personal experience of the criminal justice system, such as those who may have been in addiction and experienced the justice system as a result of that. I really believe that people from more marginalised communities can bring an important perspective on how the system works and how judges can better understand what it is like to be on the other side of the courtroom. There is also a significant value there in terms of attitudes to sentencing and what works to reduce crime in a humane, empathetic manner.

I would like to see a scenario where the new commission is discussing the merits of applicants in the presence of a legal voice but also with someone who can look at a candidate from a human rights perspective, as well as someone who can look at sentencing or past work and see how effective it has been in terms of behaviours such as addiction. I met the Minister, Deputy Ross, to discuss the Bill and mentioned this point specifically but I think more detail will be required on how it will actually work in practice. In terms of the lay people on the commission, there are two stages. The first concerns how they will be reached and encouraged to put themselves forward. I do not want to see a situation where we move from one type of jobs-for-the-boys scenario to another, in which the only applicants for these roles are from extremely well connected and well funded walks of life. If we are serious about getting new, diverse voices and perspectives onto this body, then we need to see specific detail on what will be done to reach them. Where will we advertise? What outreach will be done? How will we bring this to the grassroots community level?

The second point, and this is related, concerns the support provided for commission members once it is actually sitting. We need to have provisions in place for basic things like training and facilitation to ensure that people are encouraged to speak up and bring their expertise to the table. If people know this support is available, the pool of applicants will be bigger. It will encourage people to come forward. When the commission actually sits, it will ensure contributions are coming from all sides of the room. This is not necessarily something we need to put in the text of the Bill as it concerns granular detail but I would like to see some discussion with the Minister on what will be done on these points and commitments.