FINE GAEL will this week introduce legislative proposals in the Dáil to remove the constitutional protection that prevents judges’ salaries being reduced during their terms in office.
Alan Shatter will bring forward a Bill to amend the Constitution to allow judges’ remuneration to be cut in exceptional circumstances, where members of the judiciary will be treated similarly to other public servants.
Article 35.5 of the Constitution states: “The remuneration of a judge shall not be reduced during his continuance in office.” The Fine Gael proposal would allow it to be reduced “where it is necessary to address a serious threat to the State’s economy, [and] there is a compelling need to stabilise the State’s finances.”
The initiative forms part of the New Politics document which also included the party’s controversial proposal to abolish the Seanad and its plans to cut the term of the President from seven to five years.
The party also says its proposal, the 29th Amendment to the Constitution Bill, would be put to a referendum at the same time as an election or another plebiscite, so as not to impose a disproportionate cost. The long-promised referendum enshrining children’s rights or the next presidential election were both mentioned as possible dates.
Judges’ pay has been controversial not least because members of the judiciary benefited from increases awarded by the last report on higher remuneration in late 2007.
However, this year the Government could not subject judges to the pension levy in line with other public servants because of the constitutional bar.
The Chief Justice, Mr Justice John Murray, later announced a scheme of voluntary contributions from judges. In late September, the Revenue Commissioners published figures that showed that 72 of the 144 judges had made payments. Salaries of judges range from €147,000 for a district judge to €295,000 for the Chief Justice.
A new report on higher pay in the public service is due to be published at about the time of the budget. It recommends cuts in salaries, reportedly between 10 to 15 per cent, but those measures will not apply to judges.
Mr Shatter said last night that he considered their constitutional protection to be unfair.