Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

They should not. Senator McDowell gave very detailed examples yet I did not hear him outline the type of scenario that I have just done. In order words, I wish to reverse his argument.

Let us say somebody from the Traveller community was lucky enough to reach the level of junior or senior counsel, and the position of a District Court judge was being considered, and let us say it was noted that a significant number of cases came from the Traveller community. Would there be covert discrimination, in terms of appointment, because there might be a belief that he or she might have a better understanding or be a little more generous when it came to sentencing? The converse of Senator McDowell's argument also exists. He made a strong and convincing argument but one can flip his argument to make a claim for the opposite. I urge people to give careful consideration to Senator Ruane's amendments.