The Minister of Justice agrees to take Séamus Woulfe’s questions as PQ, but does not debate Dáil

JUSTICE MINISTER Helen McEntee has said that questions about the appointment of Séamus Woulfe to the Supreme Court can be posed as Parliamentary Questions (PQ), rather than a Dáil debate.

The opposition has already rejected this offer as insufficient, and Labor leader Alan Kelly said he “has no choice but to answer your frequently asked questions.”

This comes after days of requests from the opposition for the minister to answer why and how she appointed former Fine Gael attorney general Séamus Woulfe to the Supreme Court, Ireland’s highest court. It is understood that the judges of other courts applied for the vacancy.

Writing to the Ceann Comhairle tonight, McEntee asked the Business Committee to “reschedule my next session of ministerial oral questions, currently scheduled for December 15, to a date that satisfies the members.”

McEntee said the “oral questioning process will ensure that members can raise concerns on numerous issues within the parameters of normal parliamentary procedures.”

The minister said that although she and her government colleagues have “serious concerns” over a Dáil debate on the issue, she is “aware of the responsibility of ministers to be accountable to the Dáil.”

The government has argued that a discussion in Dáil about how Woulfe was the preferred candidate over the sitting judges, and recommended to the Cabinet by McEntee, would be a violation of the separation of powers.

Opposition rejects the offer

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the government was “spinning around in wagons.”

“What is required is a full statement from the Minister followed by questions. Nothing less than this will suffice. ” she said.

Labor leader Alan Kelly said the offer was “a completely false suggestion from the minister and it doesn’t change anything. It’s ridiculous “.

“The Minister of Justice and the Government must now put an end to this charade and agree to make a statement to the Dáil on Tuesday afternoon followed by a question and answer session with opposition spokespersons.

It is highly misleading that the minister is submitting her request to reschedule her standard oral questioning session that covers all the issues under her report as a kind of concession to calls from the Labor Party for almost a week for her to answer specific questions. in the Dáil of the appointment process of the Supreme Court.

The deadline for priority oral questions for next Tuesday was 11 a.m.

This means that any decision to reorder the rotation of ministerial oral questions now has to be agreed by motion in the Dáil, and the questions must be submitted four days in advance according to the Dáil Regulations.

The first day that Minister McEntee could answer oral questions would be Tuesday, December 1; it is currently scheduled to answer oral questions on December 8, with a motion to change them to December 15 next week.

With reporting from Christina Finn.