Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Accordingly, what is the function of the commission in trying to decide as between one, two or three judges that one is more qualified or more suitable than another to be appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court? I have not had a satisfactory answer to the point that I have raised.

Senator Noone said there are certain aspects of oneself that one might like to bring forward to the attention of the commission. These could be put in one’s CV. If one thinks that it is relevant that one was an active member of the local GAA club, then it could be put in a CV. However, it is not really relevant to whether one High Court judge or another should be appointed or one is more suitable than the other if one is an active member of their local Tidy Towns committee.

Senator Noone said the organisational skills of somebody to be a president might be different from that of an ordinary judge.