Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister referred to the reforming aspects of the Bill. He picked up quickly on Senator McDowell's word, "outsiders", and chose to put his own slant on it. The Senator had a different slant so language is clearly important.

If there is a vacancy and ten or 15 people apply, they have to be assessed to progress through the selection process. We have no idea how they will be assessed or who will assess them. Three recommendations are to be brought before the Cabinet, which is to make the appointment. The Cabinet does not have to accept any one of the three. If the Attorney General's hands are tied, as was the case in respect of section 27, he or she will have no input whatsoever into the appointment. If we untie the Attorney General's hands and the Cabinet says it is not happy with any of the three applicants and asks the Attorney General for an opinion and, on receiving it, makes an appointment, what in God's name is transparent about any of the process? The public will never know who applied. They will never know how the applicants were assessed and short-listed, that the three on the short-list were rejected by the Cabinet, or the reason for that. We will end up with the system we currently use to appoint judges. I cannot see anything reforming in this. The more we go through this Bill, the more I despair over it. Why are we pursuing it at all? It is deeply flawed. My colleague Senator McDowell, who is an expert in the area, says he believes it is unconstitutional. I said when discussing this with the Minister some weeks ago that if no one tests this in the Supreme Court if and when it is passed, I am mindful to test it myself. I do not believe the President will sign it anyway.