Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The more liberal party in the coalition might agitate for candidate A, while the more conservative party might argue that candidate A would not be approved and would seek to put candidate B in place. The expectation is that the process will always remain secret and that there will be no discussion in the coalition parties afterwards as to why a reactionary conservative judge was appointed to the Supreme Court. People might well say they did their level best to get Senator David Norris into it instead but that they were voted down, for example. That kind of information is likely to come out and it is naïve to think it will not. For example, would a struggle over who should be in the Supreme Court be kept entirely secret? It is very optimistic to think it would be and that Ministers would keep shtum, not merely while they were Ministers but afterwards as to why the Supreme Court had become more conservative while they were in government, against their wishes. It is quite possible that such things will happen. It is not a matter of imagining strange scenarios. People will be discouraged from applying because it will be known that they are "also rans" in this process. That is why I have a big problem with the shortlist of three people.