I happen to agree with the remarks made by Senator Ward and the Minister of State to a certain extent. I do make the point, though, that the vote we have just taken on my amendment No. 4 had the effect of, among other things, not merely restricting the capacity of any members of the legal profession to be members of the commission, but the amendment that I had tendered also took away the provision that the Attorney General should not have a vote on the commission. It is well worthwhile to point out that not every d…

I move amendment No. 11: In page 12, to delete lines 16 to 22.

This amendment is to remove lines 16 to 22, inclusive, on page 12 of the Bill in the form we are considering it. The purpose of this amendment is to query what I consider to be a completely artificial aim, namely, that somehow the branch of the profession that a person was a part of at the time that he or she was originally made a judge should determine for any purpose later whether that person should or should not be able to play a full role as a nominee of the Judicial Council. It is more or less grotesque that t…

When Senator Ward tabled these amendments on Committee Stage, I was in agreement with them. I have listened carefully to what the Minister of State has just said. He has not replied to the points I made about the fact that members of the two professions are now able to form joint firms and practise together indistinguishably. We have not heard a word about that. There is no explanation as to how this provision sits with the imminent reform about to be triggered by the Legal Services Regulatory Authority to allow so…

Yes.

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

Amendment No. 12 seeks to remove the complicated series of provisions in the Bill to ensure that if a person who was originally appointed or elected by the Judicial Council was, say, a barrister when that person was appointed, and was a female or a male as the case may be, that the same criteria should apply to any person who is appointed subsequently, and I refer to section 12(6) which states: Where a judge, appointed under this section, ceases to be a member of the Commission ... the Judicial Council shall nomina…

I am amused at the thought, in terms of recent developments, that people could self-identify for the purpose of this and be appointed, and become eligible. Why gender is so hugely important in this context, and self-identification is irrelevant, I do not know. What the amendment proposes to do is to delete lines 27 to 34 and just simply say that if there is a casual vacancy that the Judicial Council can elect one of its number to carry on, for the remainder of that person's term without checking their credentials a…

I welcome the Minister and the positive tone of his contribution. I agree with a lot of what Senator Fitzpatrick has said. We are in the middle of a debate which has become so polarised and negative in some respects that it is disappointing. Next year, it is proposed to hold a referendum to amend the Constitution in relation to housing. I do not see anything in the Constitution that prevents the present Government from doing anything that is required; nothing at all. When I was Attorney General I went to the Suprem…

It is not nonsense; it is all around us. If we were honest, we would admit that it is the case. If we were honest, we would admit it was a big mistake by "Brainbox" Ó Broin. He thought he knew everything and he appears on television as the great expert who writes books but that was a disastrous mistake and people are suffering now as a result of it.

Our landlord and tenant system is not the same as any continental one, even the Austrian one. Maybe we should give tenants more rights under the Constitution and maybe we should use much more social housing to ensure, as in Vienna, that people have their rights vindicated. I have no problem with any of that. However, in the particular market that we were facing what was proposed was a disaster. It was a red flag in every sense, and it just spooked everybody.

The Senator will get his opportunity. Senator Fitzpatrick mentioned the role of local authorities. Under the housing Acts, local authorities are supposed to set out a strategy to deal with housing requirements in their own areas. Senator Fitzpatrick was on Dublin City Council, which has an abysmal record in facing up to the housing shortage in Dublin city. It spends millions refurbishing apartment developments which it built and then allowed to fall into complete states of neglect. We can see examples of this negle…

From the air.

No, it is not agreed. The amendments listed are agreed but the rest are not.

I am agreeable to the grouping of amendments Nos. 1, 3, 14, 15, 20 to 24, inclusive, 31 and 34.

Yes.

Not agreed.

Yes.

Yes. I propose that they be discussed individually.

They are different topics.