Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----by a particular Minister who has set himself up as a champion of the Bill. As Senator McDowelll clearly set out, the Bill has had a long genesis. GRECO and many others, including Opposition Members, have called for a form of judicial appointments commission. It is important to note that the Bill and judicial appointments are not a one man show. Unfortunately, that is how the Bill is being portrayed and pushed and it will be claimed as a huge victory by a certain individual if and when it is finally passed, although it will be a dog's dinner in my view and that of the Attorney General. It is a pity that it is developing in this way. Had there been willingness to engage and compromise on various issues, particularly section 10, a very different Bill might have emerged. That was probably the intention when the Minister's predecessor, Alan Shatter, embarked on a process of judicial appointments reform. All Senators accept the need for legislation in this area and for judicial council legislation, to which GRECO referred at length in its longer report. We all support that.

There was goodwill for the principle behind the Bill and it is unfortunate that it has developed in this way. Section 10 is at the heart of the matter. A significant amount of time has been spent debating it in the context of the GRECO report because it is such a crucial section of the Bill and I make no apology in that regard.It is tedious to hear populism being used in attacks on those who have reasonable critiques of certain aspects of the Bill, particularly section 10.