Seanad debates

Tuesday, 10 July 2018

Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed)

 

10:30 am

Photo of David NorrisDavid Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also pointed out that one of the Sinn Féin representatives in the Dáil indicated that this would be a method of screening out people who are antagonistic to the IRA. That is clear political interference, it could not be clearer. I have to say that I am not a persistent critic of Sinn Féin as some people are in this House. To quote the Bible, there is more joy in heaven over one Shinner that repenteth than about all the other white sheep that are around.

On these professional advisers I will give an anecdote from my own experience of being on selection panels because of all of this agonising about whether people are qualified to be on a selection committee. I was on an interviewing panel for somebody to supervise a FÁS scheme we had in the James Joyce Centre in North Great George's Street. It must be 30 years ago. There were 47 applicants and one of them was the lady who is now my secretary and an exceptionally fine one. She was shortlisted to number three and we had all of these people who knew everything and were terribly qualified in assessing people and they chose this ghastly baggage who had a PhD and she was absolutely, totally useless. They ignored Miriam even though she was shortlisted. I eventually got Miriam-----

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