Voluntary levy paid by 111 judges

A total of 111 judges have now paid the voluntary pension levy, according to the Revenue Commissioners.

A total of 111 judges have now paid the voluntary pension levy, according to the Revenue Commissioners.

Voluntary payments totalling €698,000 have been made to Revenue from members of the judiciary. In addition, commitments via standing orders which amount to €522,000 per month have also been given.

Controversy arose last year after it was revealed that just 72 of the 141 judges in the State had paid the voluntary levy by the end of September.

Under the voluntary arrangement, judges were asked to pay 10 per cent of their income a year.

The voluntary pension levy emerged as a solution to the situation when the Government said it could not impose the pension levy, applied to all public servants, on the judiciary because of the constitutional prohibition on reducing the remuneration of judges.

The Constitution states: "The remuneration of a judge shall not be reduced during his continuance in office."

Last May, the Chief Justice, Mr Justice John Murray, announced that arrangements had been made with the Revenue Commissioners whereby judges could voluntarily pay a sum equivalent to the pension levy imposed on all public servants.

The voluntary contribution arrangement resulted from discussions between the Chief Justice and the chairwoman of the Revenue Commissioners, Josephine Feehily, which began shortly after the pension levy Act was passed and were concluded in April.

Judges' salaries range from €295,000 for the Chief Justice to €147,000 for a District Court judge, with High Court judges earning €243,000 a year.