Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Thank God for that. I am sure creative writers could be found to write essays that would justify anything. We are back to where we were. We go to all of the expense of having a commission in place and the difficulty of advertising positions and come up with and present the names of three individuals, assuming we can get three to go for the post. If I was working as a barrister or a solicitor, I would not go near this because of the risk of having my reputation destroyed by a loose tongue somewhere. I would not touch it with a 40 ft. pole. On the other hand, if I was the Taoiseach or the Minister for Justice and Equality, I might give the two fingers and say, "To hell with it. I will appoint who I want. I am not going to be dictated to by some commission." It fails in what we are attempting to do. We should be talking about holding a referendum to change the way in which judges are appointed, not a Bill with no teeth.