Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not going to get diverted into comments about current members of the Judiciary. I am saying it is perfectly conceivable that a proper evaluation of a sitting judge might come to the conclusion that the person is having enough difficulty firing on all cylinders in the court he or she is in and is certainly unworthy for promotion. If that report was reduced to writing and leaked, the damage it would do to the Judiciary would be very significant indeed.I refer to a report in which a person under contract to an independent commission makes an evaluation on an official and statutory basis. It is simply not good enough for the Minister to come to this House to say he proposes to have a criminal offence, but he does not propose to make it possible to investigate that criminal offence.