Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

He may also provide it in a particular form and manner. I would not have too much objection to that because the Minister is accountable to Dáil Éireann and the body in question is, ultimately, accountable to the Houses of the Oireachtas, particularly Dáil Éireann, in respect of many of the matters with which it deals. The Minister should be in a position to require the commission to deal with issues which he believes it should deal with.

I accept that the amendment put down by Senator Alice-Mary Higgins is not being discussed here but I am of the view that the amendment should not be made. I would not decline to support the section because it did not contain that amendment, and I wish to signal that for Report Stage. I believe it is misconceived and would not add to the section, whether it was made here or is made on Report Stage. Before Senator Norris commits himself to tabling such an amendment on Report Stage, I draw his attention to the reference to the commission's progress in meeting the gender diversity and Irish language objectives set out in section 7. There is a misconception here. The commission is not there to make progress on these issues. It is there to select candidates for consideration by the Government. It is the Government that makes progress on these issues and it is a misconception to think the commission will report annually on the progress it thought it was making with these proposals. I am alarmed that any Member of the House, including Senator Norris, might commit himself to moving such an amendment. If the Government chooses people on merit but under-delivers in respect of diversity, it should not be the subject of a report to this House or Dáil Éireann by the commission. It is a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas to say if they are concerned. I certainly do not want the commission, through a report of this kind, to second-guess the Government's function and critique it by saying it was not making much progress on social diversity. It is a legal and constitutional impertinence and should not be tolerated.