Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Imagine that I was not a lawyer. What would induce me to put my name forward to be one of the lay members - perhaps chairman, perhaps not - of the commission? What would be my motive for so doing? Are there people who just want, out of the goodness of their hearts and patriotism, to assist in a process of this kind without remuneration? Will they be properly remunerated for doing the part-time job of carrying out the functions of this commission?

I urge the Minister to accept the principle behind Senator Bacik's amendment. It would make it clear to each person on the commission, whether it is the practising barrister, the practising solicitor, the judges, the Attorney General, the six laypersons or the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission representative, that it is not their function to vet the ideas and the ideology of the people coming before it seeking appointment.

When the Irish Human Rights Commission was originally established, there was a group of people who were keen that what they referred to as the Paris Principles should determine who was appointed to it and who was not. On foot of this, the then Attorney General, David Byrne, put in place a process to interview people with a view to their appointments to the Irish Human Rights Commission. Several people put their names forward. I do not want to invade their privacy. However, one of them was a former Minister who is from a minority religion and who had taken a great interest in law reform and human rights. Senator Humphreys will feel that he was a colleague of his at one stage.