Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for sitting there and being calm and collected through all of this, as he generally is. As he knows, the Group of States against Corruption, GRECO, was established in 1999 by the Council of Europe to monitor states' compliance with the organisation's anti-corruption standards. Its objective is to improve the capacity of members to fight corruption by monitoring their compliance with the Council of Europe's anti-corruption standards through a dynamic process of mutual evaluation and peer pressure. It helps to identify deficiencies in national anti-corruption policies, prompting the necessary legislative, institutional and practical reforms. GRECO has also provided a platform for the sharing of best practice in the prevention and detection of corruption. GRECO has significant concerns about some of the key measures proposed in the Bill. In particular, the provisions around the new judicial appointments commission are not in line with European standards and more substantial participation is required. I have watched the Minister as a civilian and a Member of the Seanad. He is a fairly formidable character when he comes into this House or the Lower House. He is not a man to fudge anything, from what I know of him, but I am afraid that in this case I find him rather lacklustre in his support for the Bill. I am not so sure he is convinced about the Bill at all. We shall see as it progresses through the House. His Attorney General has referred to the Bill as a dog's dinner, which is rather sad. There has been much talk here about the Minister, Deputy Ross. Deputy Ross, as far as I am concerned, has nothing to do with this. This is the Minister for Justice and Equality's baby. I do not care who is in the driving seat; he is carrying it through.

I will talk about diversity for a moment. There is much talk about diversity these days. I come from a family of 11. I was born and reared in the most prestigious part of Salthill in Galway. It did not take away from the fact that our family home was built before it became the most prestigious part or that my dad was a gas fitter and that by and large, we struggled all our lives. We had a good upbringing and were a fairly diverse family. Every one of my sisters and brothers succeeded in one way or another and did so on their own merit. The only time in my life I was ever asked to justify myself and my background was when I sought to enter teacher training after taking a primary degree. I was asked how a man of my age would teach 12 year old children. Were a woman to be asked the same question, we would all be in the High Court answering that question. I accept what Senator Ruane is trying to do here but we cannot start with the Judiciary; we must start much lower. We must ensure that everyone has access to the profession. As my colleague, Senator McDowell, has said, a practising barrister has the same opportunity to advance through the profession as any other barrister. No one will ask barristers once they enter the profession who they are or what they are. I was never asked as a teacher to justify my background. No one ever treated me differently because I was a secondary entrant into education. No one ever asked me, given I did not enter the profession straight from college and was in my 40s when I started teaching, what I would know about teaching. It just never happened. If we want to talk about bringing in diversity, we must start at a much lower level. We must ensure we treat all people as equals from the very beginning of their educational careers right through to whatever national school, secondary school, college and so on they attend.

I am therefore not sure amendment No. 3 will do anything for the Judiciary. It is not the case that anyone can legitimately ask an aspiring judge to explain his or her background or sexual orientation.