Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Senator Bacik herself is an example of that. I have no problem with that. I think that is great. I am quite happy with the idea that if somebody had practised for six years as a solicitor and then sought a post at Trinity College, that after accumulating the relevant years of experience as a legal academic there, that person would be eligible for appointment to the Judiciary. I have a problem with us sweeping away, as one of the criteria for recommendation to the Government, the requirement which now exists and has existed since 2002 that a person should have practical experience of the operation of the courts. In other words, somebody who has literally never seen the inside of a court could be eligible to be made a judge. That is a bad idea.