Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have not said it is fine for people to publish. In fact, I said the opposite - that we want to prevent it getting into the hands of people who would publish it. That is why there were such severe penalties in the previous iteration. In relation to canvassing, we are putting in place a very clear structure and a system in which the commission must outline the process it goes through, the requirements and types of skills people must have and there will be an interview process. There will be a very clear, open and transparent system as to how judges are appointed. If somebody says they know a person and thinks they would be a good judge, is that canvassing? Is an individual procuring somebody and asking them to go to a member of the commission and say he or she would make an excellent judge? Where does one draw the line? How does one decide what is canvassing and what is not? An individual, very clearly, seeking to influence, directly or indirectly, is the net we have cast and the parameter I have put around canvassing in section 41 of this Bill. There is a very clear process; whether it is a member of the Judiciary or the lay profession on the commission, they must go through a clear process, along with an interview structure, which did not exist previously. I believe they will make their recommendations based on that process.