James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Flynn. Amendment No. 8 relates to section 9 of the Bill, which deals with the membership of the judicial appointments commission. Amendment No. 8 proposes that one of the lay members of the commission shall be nominated for appointment by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC. In drafting the Bill, the Minister has carefully considered the most equitable approach to take in the appointment of lay members. The Senator will be aware that the draft provision had originally been made for one of the members to be nominated by IHREC. On consideration of the matter, it appeared to us that there are many organisations and bodies in our community and society, which might have a positive contribution to make in this respect. It did not appear to us to be the best option to designate one single body above all others, as the only nominating body in the selection of lay members. On balance, therefore, we decided that all nominations in this context should be made through the Public Appointments Service, PAS. We believe it will be critical that expertise and knowledge in the area of equality and human rights are brought to bear on the functions of the commission. We have included that requirement in section 13 as objectives the Public Appointments Service must bear in mind in its determination of selection criteria, that is, the selection of all four lay members. I believe the Public Appointments Service is the most appropriate model to employ for this purpose. A person associated with a body or organisation that may have an interest in this area can come forward, as indeed can any individual who has expertise and knowledge in the area set out under section 13, including human rights and equality. Consequently, I am not in favour of the amendment.