Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)

I propose to share time with Deputies Shane Ross, Clare Daly, Joan Collins and Catherine Murphy. The debate surrounding this Bill concerns matters of fairness and equality, and I wonder at the making of an exception for judges in matters of pay. Why should they be seen as being in need of this special provision, with Article 35(5) of the Constitution stipulating that the remuneration of a judge shall not be reduced during the continuance in office of that judge? I accept the need for an independent Judiciary, but surely that is not related to remuneration. There have been enough cases in this country where it appeared that the higher the salary, the greater was the disaster wrought by the person receiving that salary. We have many examples of extremely highly paid individuals who played significant roles in bringing about the disastrous situation in which we find ourselves. I am not suggesting that our highly paid judges contributed to the economic recession, but there should not be any section in our society which feels it has a privileged position and whose remuneration is written in stone.

Members of the Judiciary are citizens of this country who, like all of us, are subject to the law. They should also be subject to the same taxes, levies and reductions. I do not know why they are not considered to be public servants as they are paid from public money. From a principled point of view, I would have expected that members of the Judiciary would wish to contribute to the public finances in the same way as other citizens.

It is important that we have an independent Judiciary. It is essential in a democracy. There are glaring examples of other countries where the judiciary is not independent but is subject to the political whims and ambitions of the president or government. It is also central to the democratic process that if somebody is before a court, he or she can be assured of a hearing and adjudication by an impartial judge. However, why should an independent judiciary be commensurate with money and a particular salary scale? Members of the Judiciary are among the highest paid in Europe. In this country we appear to have a propensity for wanting to have the highest paid people, be it the Judiciary, the President, the Taoiseach, consultants, senior civil servants or bank managers. This must stop, as must the expenses regime. I constantly call for a 50% reduction, at least, in expenses across the board. Members of the Judiciary also have an interesting expenses allowance.

A pay cut for judges is not a threat to judicial independence. Judges are citizens and are subject to the same taxes, levies and cuts as everybody else. I do not believe we should even have a referendum on this issue and I cannot understand how the matter ended up in the Constitution in the first place.

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