Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It now means, for instance, that a judge who is pally with another judge is free to go to judges who are on the Judicial Appointments Commission and say, “Judge Michael McDowell is really the person we need”, so anybody is entitled to canvass in my favour except me or somebody I procure to do it. Is that really what the Minister wants, namely, that members of the Judiciary can canvass the judicial members of the commission and urge them strongly to appoint one person rather than another, and that is legitimate, or that the chairman of the Bar can do it, or that people can have their favourites in the race and go to members of the Judicial Council and do this? I do not see the logic for this. A person cannot ask himself or herself, and it is probably the least worrying thing, for example, to have somebody say, “I am going for a job; any chance that I will get it?” That is far less damaging to the process than saying that any other judge can get involved in lobbying on behalf of a particular judge as long as he or she is not instructed to do so by the judge himself or herself.

That is a recipe for a mess. It is not well thought through. This is not casting the net too wide. The purpose of this is simply to say to members of the commission that they should not entertain any canvassing. The purpose of it is to impose a summary conviction fine on anybody who opens his or her mouth on his or her own behalf but it is to leave everybody else free to put in their oar and try to influence the outcome.

I do not understand how any Department can put this legislation before the people in that form and say it is okay for ten judges to go to the Chief Justice and say, “We want Judge Gerry Horkan to be promoted to the Supreme Court”, but it is not okay for Gerry Horkan, if he meets the Chief Justice, to say, “I would love that job.” I do not understand how any serious Department can put this before this House and say that is the way it wants the law to be.

On this idea of spreading the net too wide, it is not. It is saying to everybody to keep their hands off, and that this is a process where they do not get involved in canvassing for anybody.