I apologise if I misunderstood what the Senator said in terms of cross-contamination. I thought she had used that term. I absolutely agree with her in terms of what she said about local authority members. In fact, if one looks at any State board, for example, one of the things that will more often than not debar a person from membership is membership of local authority. That is another short-sighted move by successive Governments, including my own, that have precluded often very talented, experience and qualified p…

I move amendment No. 15: In page 12, to delete lines 4 to 12. Section 15 deals with the nomination of members of the Judicial Council and their appointment as members of the commission. The section 12 provisions provide for the appointment, essentially of judges, to the proposed judicial appointments commission. There are three amendments in the group. Amendment No. 15 deals with section 12(2), which provides for two nominees from the Judicial Council, one of whom shall be from the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal or…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I do not agree that there needs to be clarity about what we are asking the council to do. It is being asked to appoint two people. I do not believe any clarity beyond that is required. I reiterate the point I made earlier on the previous experience issue: the reality is that you just have judges; you do not have judges for former solicitors and former barristers. The danger is that when you talk about judges who are former solicitors and former barristers, you do two …

I move amendment No. 16: In page 12, to delete lines 16 to 22.

I move amendment No. 17: In page 12, to delete lines 27 to 34 and substitute the following: "judge to replace him or her.".

I move amendment No. 19: In page 13, to delete lines 17 to 23 and substitute the following: "(4) The matters referred to in subsection (3) are matters connected with— (a) the courts and the operation of the justice system both in the State and in places outside the State, (b) the importance of protection of human rights and equality, (c) business, finance or public service, and (d) corporate governance and human resources (including making, or recommending persons for, senior appointments).". Amendment No. 19 relat…

Today I want to talk about facilities provided for postnatal care for women in Ireland. I was contacted yesterday by a lady in my area who has a young infant and who has found it most difficult in the aftermath of the birth to have a social activity available to her or social circle of people in a similar situation. I am aware programmes in other European countries where they set up groups of women coming from the same maternity hospital and who live in the same area. They are connected in together so they can soci…

Now.

I broadly agree with the statement Senator McDowell has made. It is tremendously important to remember that there is a basis on which there should be a political involvement, a democratic involvement, if you will, in the appointment of judges. They are a branch of the Government in the Judiciary, as a whole, and it is appropriate that the people have some say through the Government. That is the way it has worked and that is the way it should continue to work, which is why the Government still makes those appointmen…

I will support the amendments, which make a great deal of sense. The notion that the professions that know and understand the role a judge plays would be cut out of the decision-making process is, I think, flawed. They should not have a veto. I have a certain discomfort that the words as spoken by Senator McDowell, with the greatest of respect, sound a little like a boys' club supporting or endorsing one of their own. That is not what it is about. It is about people having an understanding of the individuals involv…

My amendment will deal with that.

I find myself in a difficult position on this. Although I fundamentally and wholeheartedly disagree with Senator Higgins, I find my name on one of the amendments she has tabled. For her it is consequential but for me it is primary. What my amendment, No. 11, seeks to do is remove the restriction in section 9(3) on the Attorney General having a vote on the commission. I do not think we should be removing the Attorney General from activity by him or her in any future decisions relating to our judges. I spent a lot of…

At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

I welcome the Bill being presented by Senators Doherty and Seery Kearney and the family of Stephen Smith, if I can put it in those terms. It is a Bill that makes perfect sense. It is an unfortunate stain that this has not been the situation up to now. I know we would all welcome it. I will raise the issue of non-consultant hospital doctors. We have approximately 12,000 doctors working in hospitals, about 8,000 of whom are non-consultant doctors. Up to 5,000 of these are in formal training contracts whereby they wil…

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. Tá mé ag féachaint ar an rún seo agus mé ag smaoineamh go bhfuilimid i gcónaí ag labhairt faoin Úcráin agus na huafáis atá ag tarlú ann. Tá fadhbanna sa tSín agus i dtíortha eile ar fud an domhain agus uafáis den chineál céanna ar siúl iontu ach ní bhíonn an seans againn go minic labhairt faoin Iaráin agus na huafáis atá ag tarlú ansin. Ba cheart dúinn é sin a dhéanamh agus sin é an fáth go gcuirim fáilte roimh an rún seo agus táim b…

There is a lot to unpack in this Bill. As the Minister noted, it is a significant change and there are significant elements in the changes that were contained in the Bill. I echo what the Minister said about the quality of the Judiciary in Ireland. We are tremendously lucky to have a Judiciary that is fair and more importantly, that observes the rule of law. That is not even the case in every European country any more. The fact that we have a Judiciary that does its job and does it faithfully to the Constitution an…

Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire Stáit agus a fhoireann, chomh maith leis an Aire, an Teachta Coveney, agus gach éinne a oibríonn sa Roinn as an méid oibre atá déanta acu ar an ábhar seo. It is right and proper that we acknowledge that. Other speakers have said just how much work has been done. The Minister of State outlined some of the statistics for the enormous turnaround we have seen on even months ago, or certainly last year, and the number of passports being produced. It is an enormous recognition of the se…

-----because we have not had one and because I would not want to be left behind by my colleagues.

Great. I am delighted to hear it. I recognise, however, that there is a practicality deficit in making that request. I recognise wholeheartedly that the impetus behind this motion is so much about symbolism. I also recognise the statement we would be making in opening a passport office in Belfast and I absolutely support the symbolism and the impetus behind that. I also recognise, however, what the Minister of State has said about the practicality of it. I do not know which overtakes the other or which is more impo…

In the first instance, I welcome the documentary that will be broadcast on RTÉ 1 this evening at 7 p.m. about thalidomide and the unfortunate history our country has with the survivors of that drug and how important it is that we recognise, even at this late stage, the ordeal they went through. I also want to use my time today to call for a debate on the Special Criminal Court. It is something we debate every year in the context of whether we approve its extension, but it is not really a proper debate from the poin…