Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have to say, through the Chair, that this is probably the most bizarre provision in any Bill I have ever seen. That nobody would be suitable to be made Chief Justice or President of the Court of Appeal after a full process, despite the fact that all of those courts have ordinary members, and that none of them would be suitable to be appointed to the presidency in such a court, how crazy a scenario is that? Unless the members of the commission had completely lost their marbles, it could not be that nobody would be suitable for appointment, unless there had been some kind of judicial boycott of the commission's application process.

What is even stranger about this is that having conjured up this crazy scenario, a really weird proposal is made. If the position of Chief Justice is vacant, the commission advertises for applicants to that position and then finds that there is nobody in the entire Judiciary who can be appointed as Chief Justice, what happens? This subsection says the Minister then requests the commission to seek expressions of interest on the part of eligible persons who wish to be appointed to such office at three-monthly intervals until somebody comes forward whom it can recommend. I have never heard a more bizarre provision than that there are, at three-monthly intervals, to be searches for anybody who would take the position of Chief Justice, President of the Court of Appeal or President of the High Court. I have heard of stupid provisions in Bills-----