Mr Eamonn Barnes leaves his own distinctive imprint on the post of Director of Public Prosecutions as he retires from a crucial office in the democratic life of this State. He will hand over the reins and, more importantly, the same conditions of service to his successor, Mr James Hamilton, a former practising barrister and current director-general of the Attorney General's Office, next Wednesday.
The position of DPP was first established under the Prosecution of Offences Act, 1974, to remove the prosecution of criminal offences from the remit of the Attorney General. That was a good decision at the time. There have been many denunciations, frequently severe, of the decisions to prosecute, or not prosecute, taken by the first and only office-holder, Mr Barnes, in the intervening 25 years. By his actions, on occasions, Mr Barnes has annoyed governments of every hue. But one of the hallmarks of his tenure has been the steadfast principle never to respond to the clamour of popular opinion or the demands of politicians to give explanations for his actions. Mr Barnes is to be commended that he did not manifest any political partisanship. He had security of tenure for his working life. He will have a full pension on his retirement. This enabled him to exercise independent discretion without fear or favour from people who might affect his career.
Set in this context, the Government's original attempt earlier this summer to recruit and appoint his successor for a limited period without a set pension was an error of judgment. A seven-year term may be suitable for the secretary-general of a Government department but not for an office-holder performing independent constitutional functions. It could have exposed the next DPP to the pressures and concerns of political life in a way that hard, often unpleasant, and unpopular decisions might not be made freely. Could a new office-holder, for example, in changed circumstances, make a free and independent decision to prosecute the former leader of a major political party for alleged obstruction of the McCracken tribunal when that party in Government could possibly control his future employment?
The new Attorney General, Mr Michael McDowell, brought this dilemma to the attention of the Government. The DPP's position was re-advertised with the original conditions of service restored. That was important because the DPP must not only be independent but be seen to be so as well.
Despite public criticism of many of his decisions over the years, Mr Barnes made a major contribution to the establishment of the DPP's Office and the impartial integrity of the prosecution system. He set down some principles which his successor would be wise to follow. The incoming DPP, Mr Hamilton, came to public prominence in an honourable way as "Official B" during the Dail committee's hearings into the heady events leading up to the fall of the 1994 Fianna Fail/Labour Coalition. Mr Barnes has set him a commendable example to follow.