Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also strongly support Senator Higgins's amendment. Unlike Senator Norris, I do not think any differentiation can be properly made between lay members and non-lay members, be they judges, practising lawyers or the Attorney General for that matter, for the reason that it is not the function of the average barrister to conduct appointment interviews. Perhaps solicitors do it a bit more often than barristers, but it is still rare enough and, since they do it mainly for the purposes of their own practices if they are running small practices, they may not be skilled in conducting fair interviews which are equivalent for all candidates and they may not be conscious of things that somebody filling a job should be doing. Larger solicitors firms delegate this function to committees. The fact that one is a solicitor in a large firm as distinct from a small firm does not mean that one has any experience in this area. I can say for a certainty that barristers would have little or no skills in conducting interviews for appointments.