Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

If, in respect of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court, the Government gets the same three names recommended to it on three successive occasions and does not like them, is it not entitled to inquire who is being passed over for those three people to be named and why the commission insists on putting those three people before the Government for nomination when the Government has already made clear through one decision that it is not impressed by them? If this is not possible it underlines what I am saying about the onslaught on the Executive's discretion. If the Government cannot understand the true lie of the land in making its constitutional decision and have a 100% accurate picture of who is consistently being put forward on a shortlist and who is not, and if it cannot ask why the people who are not being put forward are failing, what is wrong with them and why the commission keeps stating Ms Justice Bloggs and Mr. Justice Bloggs are people who will never appear on the shortlist, there is something radically wrong with the intended operation of the Bill.