asked the Minister for Justice if he has received a submission from the interview board which met recently under a chairman who was not the Commissioner; and if the panel of candidates submitted have been placed in order of merit.

The board completed the interviewing of candidates only on Friday, 20 June 1980 and I understand that its report, which is submitted to the Garda Commissioner, lists the candidates in order of merit.

Will the Minister accept from the Garda Commissioner the list based on order of merit?

The Minister has always accepted the list given by the Garda Commissioner.

The Minister has not always accepted such lists. Other Ministers accepted the lists given by Garda Commissioners.

The Deputy is now making a statement which is not permitted at Question Time.

Will the Chair permit me to ask a question?

The Deputy is not asking a supplementary; he is making statements.

According to Magill the Minister made an appointment that had not been recommended to him and threw the file at Peter Berry. He threw the file on the floor and walked out. He made an appointment despite the fact that the person concerned was placed fourth on the list.

Is the Minister saying that he will accept Commissioner McLaughlin's recommendations on merit and not interfere with them?

Not alone is the answer to Deputy Harte's question an unqualified "yes" but I have always accepted the reports and the order of merit given to me since I became Minister for Justice as, indeed, my predecessor and his predecessor did. I should like also to state that from my observations the only time a Commissioner's report was interfered with was during the time when the Fine Gael Party was the major party in Government in the early sixties.

We were not in power in the early sixties.

In the fifties.

The Minister's history is a little rusty.

The matter was raised in the Dáil in 1968 and Deputies can check up on that if they wish.

Why the delay for ten years before doing anything about it? The Minister should get his facts correct.

Deputy L'Estrange should allow questions to proceed.

I have my facts correct.

Did the Minister accept the recommendations of Commissioner Garvey on merit?

If the Deputy wishes to put down a specific question on that to me I will be glad to deal with it.

Arising out of what the Minister has said, that he and two former Ministers——

We cannot go back 20 years. The question applies to a recent interview. We must move on to the next question.

I am anxious to ask the Minister a supplementary arising out of his reply.

It does not arise. Supplementaries must arise out of the question.

Did the Minister accept the recommendations of Commissioner Garvey on merit when he made recommendations to the Minister?

Let me assure the Deputy — I am repeating this — that I have always accepted the recommendations in the order of preference given to me. I brought those recommendations exactly as they were given to me before the Government at the time the vacancies arose.

Did the Minister ever change the panel?

I never did.

Why did the Minister not contradict an announcement in the public press which stated something different?

The Chair is calling Question No. 18. Deputy Harte should resume his seat. I have called the next question and I want it answered.

I have no knowledge about what the Deputy is talking about.

There is no secret about it. It appeared in the public press.

I have called the next question.

The Minister is running away from this.

I made a clear statement on what I did and did not do. It is the Deputy's business whether he accepts or rejects what I said.

I have called the next question. If Deputy Harte does not stop interrupting and holding up Question Time he will have to leave the House.

It is not worth the Deputy's while going.

18.