The Government has decided to appoint eight members to the new Human Rights Commission.
However, only one of them was among the eight front-runners listed by the selection committee chaired by Dr T.K. Whitaker. Four were on its list of 16.
It is understood that the eight nominated by the Government are: a Trinity College law lecturer and anti-abortion activist, Mr William Binchy; the former director of the Rape Crisis Centre, Ms Olive Braiden; a former Labour Party minister, Mr Mervyn Taylor; Mr Tom O'Higgins of the development agency Concern; Mr Robert Daly, a specialist in mental health from Cork; Ms Suzanne Egan, a lawyer specialising in refugee law; Ms Jane Liddy, a human rights specialist; and Ms Fionnuala Ni Aolain, a lecturer in human rights law at the University of Ulster.
Ms Ni Aolain was on the list of eight candidates preferred by the selection committee, and Mr Daly, Ms Egan and Ms Liddy were on the list of 16. There is likely to be concern that some prominent activists in the human rights and voluntary sectors have not been nominated, despite being listed by the selection committee.