Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Exactly. One might ask at some stage why one has been on the shortlist on a number of occasions and even though other people are added to the shortlist, one is always discriminated against by the Government or the Government has it in for one for some reason. A thought process of that kind might take place. The Minister has not accepted amendments to this effect so I really want to know if the Minister is advancing this Bill on the basis that unsuccessful candidates for short-listing will be told that is what happened to them, that successful candidates for short-listing will be told that is what happened to them or is it implicit in this Bill? The original architecture and philosophy behind the Bill is that none of this is disclosed to candidates, it is a secret process, Ministers are not to mention the people who they have not accepted and it is to be kept secret from the public. I cannot follow what the underlying philosophy in this Bill is. I can see very good reasons, if we have a system of this kind, for saying everybody must treat the shortlist in total confidence and, therefore, one of the things we will not do is tell people whether they were on it or off it because that will undermine that confidence. If I tell a good friend that I was short-listed and he tells Senator Norris who immediately tells the newspapers that I have been short-listed-----