Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----misadventure or nod and wink operation into this commission. A lay person will never appear on this commission unless he or she goes through the evaluation and suitability tests which will be set out for lay persons. That is why I consider this such a gratuitous and pointless amendment. I have not heard any explanation of why it is necessary. What was wrong with the original definition of a lay person? Why was it necessary to say that somebody from outside the jurisdiction with legal appearance might get through the Public Appointments Service and past the Houses of the Oireachtas, which would be a terrible thing? The only explanation can be is that there is a madness at the heart of this legislation, which is that lay persons must be in a majority because anybody who has any experience other than as a total lay person is in some sense inferior at making choices for recommendations.