David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to see the Minister in sunny good humour today. The Minister then talks about more objective headings. I do not see what could be more objective than experience. The Minister asks what kind of experience but it is perfectly obvious that experience in court is the thing that matters - it is a person's experience of dealing with cases in court. While the Minister said the commission can review the situation at a later date, that is not good enough. We need to address it now and look at it. The Minister has not raised any strong argument whatever against including experience. It seems a most glaring omission from the Bill. This is something we would want to know about a judge, namely, that he had the experience and that we could see his track record, observe his judgements and see the way in which his mind works. These are all things that are very necessary in coming to a conclusion on this matter.