Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

The effect of this amendment would be to deprive judges of absolute privilege when they administer justice. This would be a very far-reaching change. It would be extraordinary if a judge were liable to be sued because he said he thought somebody was the lowest piece of work that ever came into his court or he believed somebody murdered his wife or whatever else. I do not think we should vary the law and make judges liable for remarks they make on the Bench. Let us remember these remarks are made by a judge or another person performing a judicial function. If a judge were to suddenly shout out a few random thoughts in a court which had nothing to do with his or her judicial function, that might be a totally different situation, but if he or she is performing a judicial function, then it would be a huge intrusion on his or her independence for him or her to be sued for remarks made. Many people would spend their lives suing judges for their conclusions, remarks, etc., and we would have a very quiet and cowed Judiciary if we allowed that to happen.