Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

Yes; I am sorry. It is 50% more than the pay of a legislator in this House, no matter how many years he or she has been here. If the Government believes it is fair that this be extended to the Judiciary, we should bring to an end calls on its members to voluntarily contribute to pension levies or hand back a portion of their salaries. What we should do is to put the necessary constitutional amendment to the people in a referendum.

Such an amendment was published by me, on behalf of Fine Gael, in the Twenty-ninth Amendment to the Constitution Bill 2009, which seeks to ensure the independence of the Judiciary is protected. Its general provision is that the remuneration of a judge shall not be reduced during his continuance in office. However, it provides an exception "save where it is necessary to address a serious threat to the State's economy, there is a compelling need to stabilise the State's finances and as a consequence it is necessary to effect a reduction in public service remuneration; in such circumstances any reduction in the remuneration of all public servants or in the remuneration of a class of public servants may be applied to effect a comparable reduction in the remuneration of all members of the judiciary". The effect of that would be that in times of economic emergency, if there was a general reduction of pay across the public service, it could apply to the Judiciary. This means any such reduction would not be seen to be targeting the Judiciary in any way.

In addition, if there was a reduction in the pay of a comparable class of public servants - such as everyone in receipt of a salary of more than €100,000 per year - this would also apply to the Judiciary. However, it would not allow for the targeting by the Government or the Houses of the Oireachtas of the Judiciary for a pay reduction because it disapproved of some judgment or decision delivered in the courts. It is crucial we preserve the independence of our Judiciary and that we as politicians - and the Government - do not try to create a public perception that the Judiciary will respond to public or political pressure with regard to the manner in which its members conduct themselves. We must now create the constitutional space to implement fairness in this area and facilitate the Judiciary in making the contribution necessary to tackle the economic emergency, as is being done by everyone across the public sector, including Members of this House.

I ask the Minister, in the context of this debate, to indicate whether the Government will support this Bill. Will it agree to put it to a referendum in the new year? A total of €3 million has been set aside in the Estimates for the Department of Health and Children for a constitutional referendum on children's rights next year. The Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children will report by the end of January and is on the verge of resolving certain issues. I believe it will ultimately present this House with the opportunity of a constitutional amendment Bill.

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