Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

As I see it, the Bill is actually making members of the District Court eligible to be appointed to the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the like. That is one of the terms of the Bill, as it stands. Is the Minister creating a two tier approach to members of the Judiciary which he has always accused me of doing, or is he now saying he might amend the law to have no preliminary examination of High Court judges or candidates for appointment to the High Court? I am not quite clear what he is saying. Is he saying members of the High Court in seeking appointment to the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court would be positively excluded from the possibility of being vetted by a third party on a preliminary basis? I seek clarity on that issue. Is the Minister also saying it would be for appointments to the High Court? I also seek clarity on that issue. I would like an explanation for why Circuit Court judges, for example, would be evaluated by third party assessors in a preliminary evaluation process before the judicial appointments commission would come to look at and decide on their application. Why would it be justified in the case of Circuit Court judges?