Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

One of the key points that has been made this afternoon is that Ireland is in some way out of line with European and international norms. However, no one whom I heard making that point shed any great light on what international and European norms are. I will explain why that is the case - there is no universal international norm. Nor is there any binding international or European norm. As I said last week, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Malta and, in some respects, Cyprus operate under a different administrative process than other EU countries when it comes to the law. There is no binding or specific international norm.

Two years after the 2010 Council of Europe recommendation, we had a major policy statement from the European Networks of Councils for the Judiciary, ENCJ, known as the Dublin Declaration, since it followed a network meeting in Dublin. In it, the ENCJ referred to the necessity in circumstances such as those in Ireland, where the Government is, in effect, the deciding authority, for a relevant number of members of the Judiciary to be directly involved and for the majority membership of this body to comprise individuals independent of the Government. The real point in this discussion is the new commission's independence from the Government.

We are only dealing with section 10, but I am sure that, having regard to the fact that I have sat here patiently for almost four hours, the Acting Chairman will indulge me.I challenge Senators who tell me there is something of a conflict in that this Bill in some way compromises the independence of the appointments commission.