Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 13:

In page 10, lines 20 to 31, to delete all words from and including “(1) The Commission” in line 20 down to and including line 31, and in page 11, to delete lines 1 to 3 and substitute the following:“(1) The Commission shall consist of 11 members being—

(a) the Chief Justice,

(b) the President of the Court of Appeal,

(c) the President of the High Court,

(d) the President of the Circuit Court,

(e) the President of the District Court,

(f) a lay person nominated by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission,

(g) a lay person nominated by the Free Legal Advice Centres Limited,

(h) a lay person nominated by the Citizens Information Board,

(i) a lay person nominated by an tÚdarás um Ard-Oideachas,

(j) a practising barrister nominated under section 13, and

(k) a practising solicitor nominated under section 13.

(2) The Commission shall elect its own chairperson.”.

The amendment proposes to simplify the membership of the commission. Currently, section 10 provides for 13 members, but then goes on to list 17 individuals who will comprise the commission. Our proposal is that five members of the Judiciary would be on the commission of 11 members, including the presidents of each court. The lay people will bring a very different prospective to the commission.

The Government proposes a competition run by the PAS, but this will be a complicated process and a much better way to find suitable lay people would be to have them nominated by organisations and entities that are well respected. This amendment proposes that laypersons be nominated by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, Free Legal Advice Centres Limited, the Citizens Information Board and an tÚdarás um Ard-Oideachas.

It also proposes that representatives of both legal professions be included. Many people may make applications that look great on paper. Some will have impressive CVs and will do a great interview, but the commission needs to have the knowledge of the applicants' experience as barristers or solicitors over a period of 15 or 20 years. One will know much more about a person and whether he or she would make a good judge from knowing how he or she has been as a practising solicitor or barrister. The amendment also allows the commission to select its own chairperson.