Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

A journalist would certainly publish it; that is the point. Is this confidential information or not? I would like the Minister to be clearer on that point. He blithely says best practise is to say who was shortlisted and who was not. From my experience as a Minister, I know that where people were shortlisted for non-judicial jobs, they were told that they were on the shortlist and then if the Minister was making the appointment personally, usually he had the courtesy to tell each of the candidates who knew that they were on the shortlist that they were not getting the job, that X was getting it instead. That is what happens. In this case I am mystified about whether we are really drawing a veil of secrecy over the shortlist. I ask the Minister to state clearly where he stands on the issue.