David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator McDowell in this amendment. He seems to me to be following the same line of argument that he did in the previous amendments. That is essentially that, when looking at the principle for appointment to these courts, one needs expertise in the business of those particular courts. As he rightly says, if there is a vacancy or need for extra judges in the family courts, there is not much point in appointing somebody whose experience is in property and conveyancing, because that person would not have the relevant experience. I do not anticipate that the Minister will accept this because if he did not accept the amendments which dealt with the question of experience, he is hardly likely to accept this amendment. Although it does not mention experience, the principle is quite clear that people should be appointed on the basis of the experience that they have in the court so that we get appropriate appointments and not inappropriate ones.