Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

A Minister, whom I shall not name, said that the purpose of this Bill was to take the appointment of judges out of the hands of politicians.As I said yesterday, this is strange coming from a person who, when in opposition, proposed that a committee, consisting of Opposition politicians in the main, should decide who should be appointed to the Bench. He proposed an amendment to the Constitution to that end.

I want to emphasise that the Constitution confers on the Government of the day the duty and the right to recommend and advise the President of persons to be appointed to the Judiciary. In our system, the Government is composed of elected politicians. As has been done in favour of this Bill, to take away from them the function of advising the President as to who should be a judge is a constitutional falsehood. Unless there is a referendum, that function remains vested in the Government. To claim that the Government has somehow ended cronyism and taken the appointment of judges out of the hands of politicians is simply false. Let it be remembered that, no matter what is done in this legislation, this underlying constitutional reality remains unaffected. The Government of the day must take responsibility and must make the ultimate choice as to whom it advises the President should appoint. There is no way around that or no way of avoiding it under our current system. To make a false claim that one is somehow preventing the Government from appointing people who are eligible to be appointed under this or any other legislation is to pull a fast one on the community.