Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I agreed with the call made by Senator O'Toole last week for a debate on the separation of powers. He made that call in the light of the decision made to hold the by-election in County Donegal. We have since had several examples of political grandstanding - there was an example this morning and another last week involving a political party - in looking for the intrusion of the courts in the political arena. This is highly dangerous and, in many ways, contrasts with the almost Jesuitical approach politicians take to the separation of powers. We need to debate the issue. I was amazed last year when the Government decided that judges who were paid far more excessively than judges in other-----