Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I welcome that. The Attorney General is just one matter. If the Attorney General is to be made free to provide the Government with details of the entire list of runners in the case with a view to giving advice as to whether, over a number of shortlists which the Government may receive, say, for the High Court or the Court of Appeal, there was a worry or dissatisfaction on the part of the Attorney General with the outcome of decisions made by the commission, then some balance would be restored because the Government would have a clearer view of the issues with which it is being asked to deal. I would welcome the restoration of a degree of balance in that regard. There are other issues I have raised and we will see about them as well. The Minister stated that he understands the point I am making and that he is open to considering it. That is one thing but he is very quick to indicated that he does not see that it is wrong to say that he perceives a problem with the current consequences of criminalising the Attorney General. I would prefer him to be slightly more concrete and upfront and state that, on reflection, the-----