Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 7:

In page 3, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following:"Age of Retirement of District Court Judges

2.(1) The age of retirement of a judge of the District Court who holds office at the time of the coming into operation of this section shall be 70 years.

(2) Section 72 of The Courts of Justice Act, 1924 is deleted.".

This is with regard to the age of retirement of District Court judges. As the Minister is aware, the retirement age for a District Court judge is 65 years. For all other judges, it is 70 years of age. The appointment of District Court judges may be extended on a year-by-year basis by a committee consisting of the Chief Justice, the President of the High Court and the Attorney General. If they think it appropriate, after consultation with the Minister for Justice and Equality, the judge can be given an extension of time until a maximum of 70 years of age. This process requires the District Court judge to provide a medical certificate to the committee and be interviewed by them annually from age 65 until 70. Most judges are aged over 40 on their appointment.They terminate their legal careers on appointment and qualify for a pension after 20 years of service. Somebody who is appointed in his or her 50s does not get the benefit of a full pension. The reason for this arrangement is unclear, and it is now accepted that the process is embarrassing and rather odd to everybody concerned.

As the Minister of State is aware, the Council of Europe has established the Group of States against Corruption, GRECO. Ireland joined this group in 1999 and has been subject to four evaluations by it since. The fourth evaluation round relates to members of parliament, judges and prosecutors under various headings. With respect to the retirement age of District Court judges, GRECO noted:

While Supreme Court, high court and circuit court judges retire at the age of 70, district court judges retire at 65. However, a district court judge may be continued in office for successive periods of one year until the age of 70, if allowed by a special warrant. The GET [GRECO evaluation team] heard criticism in respect of these differences which were described by some as an historical anomaly, heard no justifiable reasons for the discrepancy, and suggests that all judges be subject to the same retirement regime.

All the amendment asks is that judges of the District Court be treated in the same way as other judges and have their retirement age extended to 70 years.