David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The whole point of this amendment is to include the word "advisory" and make it absolutely clear and specific that these recommendations are merely advisory, and that they are not legally binding on the Government, which is a very important point.

Article 34.1° of the Constitution provides that: "Justice shall be administered in courts established by law by judges appointed in the manner provided by this Constitution". Article 35.1° is perfectly clear about the appointment of the Judiciary as it provides without ambiguity that: "The judges ... shall be appointed by the President". What we are doing here is exactly what we did during the attempt to extinguish the Seanad; we are protecting, among other things, the powers of the President.

The point of this amendment is to ensure that the language in which the Bill is couched adequately reflects this point that the recommendations are advisory, rather than legally binding. There should be no ambiguity about the status of these kind of recommendations. They cannot be characterised as being binding in any way. They are purely advisory. The discretion of the President to appoint judges on the advice of the Government must not be fettered in any way. It is a very important point. The Minister is shaking his head, so he is obviously not going to accept the amendment but there we are.