Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----and hence there is an incapacity on my part to accede to his request that the amendments be brought forward before the debate takes on any further complexity.

I will not delay the House on the matter of my support for section 46. Obviously, it is of great import that, in advising the President in regard to an appointment, the Government should firstly consider the names recommended to the Minister. That has always been the position of the Government. If Senators were minded to go back to the general scheme of the Bill and the heads that were published at the outset or, indeed, to look at section 16 of the Courts and Court Officers Act 1995, they would see consistency there. Of course, although the Government shall first consider the appointment, that does not necessarily mean that this in any way impacts upon the constitutional right or requirement of the Government to ultimately make that decision. We must ensure in this legislation that the Government is not constrained to only accepting advice that might be proffered by the commission. I strongly advocate the retention of section 46. The Seanad has voted on a number of amendments and I have a certain amount of sympathy for some, but they are covered in other aspects of the legislation. I respectfully suggest that the question be put.