Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. I wish to make a number of comments on the recent controversy involving the Minister and the Judiciary. First, I believe it was not entirely of the Minister's making. Obviously he was partly to blame, but there were two sides to it. The Judiciary must accept that the people of this country voted by way of a referendum to allow the Executive to have a say in setting the remuneration of judges. I am echoing what people on the street are saying. It is not acceptable for the Judiciary to occupy a separate position when it comes to the setting of remuneration. That is just not on and the referendum has put that question to bed.

On the issue of communication, it is obvious that something broke down along the way. The Minister said he was in regular contact with the Judiciary, but that was not the message coming from the Association of Judges of Ireland, AJI, in press statements and briefings. Has the Minister been at meetings of the new forum that has been established under the Chief Justice, Ms Susan Denham? How often will the forum meet? Will meetings be held on a monthly or a quarterly basis? What issues have been raised to date and what routes to resolution will be taken? I ask the Minister to give us an overview of the issues being raised or flagged by the judges.

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