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

Yes. In a general way, I have tabled some amendments about deleting various things and so on, and it is to get rid of the lay majority and the law chairperson of the board.

Senator Alice-Mary Higgins has tabled amendment No. 32 that states:

In page 12, to delete lines 35 to 37 and substitute the following:“(i) from time to time when requested to do so by the Minister, a selection process referred to in subsection (3) for the purpose specified in that subsection, and”.

Her amendment replaces section 12(1)(b)(i) that reads: "from time to time when requested to do so by the Minister, a selection process referred to in either subsection (2) or (3), or both, for the purposes specified in either or both of those subsections, and..."

Her amendment restricts the selection process to "subsection (3)" because she apparently agrees with section 12(2) that states that the Public Appointments Service shall recommend a lay person for appointment by the Minister as chairperson following a selection process held by the service for that purpose. I fundamentally and strongly disagree with that notion. This is one of the key aspects of the Bill, in addition to the section that we have just dealt with where Senator McDowell sought to delete between ten and 15 lines. This, to my mind, is one of the key things.

In my opinion, by taking the line that I am taking in this matter, we are following the recommendations of the GRECO report that clearly suggested that the chairperson of the commission should be the Chief Justice. I tabled an amendment to that effect, so I can hardly be expected to accept an apparently innocuous amendment which at the same time - unlike what Senator McDowell said about a submarine without a periscope - has two barrels with torpedoes in them.If we were to accept this it would strengthen the situation whereby a lay person is chairperson, which is a situation with which I simply do not agree. I expect some of my colleagues also do not agree with it.

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