Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Equal Status Act is there to protect people from unfair discrimination. It is to assist people who are discriminated against on those grounds in seeking redress and requiring others to protect them from unfair discrimination. However, there is no logical connection between the criteria for unfair discrimination and a process whereby members of the Judiciary are selected by explicit reference to the characteristics mentioned in the Equal Status Act. I know that my colleague did not draft this amendment, but it shows a degree of intellectual confusion if it is based on the proposition that because someone can seek protection against discrimination on these grounds, the commission should investigate whether the person belongs to any of these categories before appointment.