The Minister for Justice has rejected claims by a judge that he "interfered" in the judicial process by commenting on the judge's stated intention to jail drink drivers who come before him for seven days without bail.
Reacting to the latest comments today by Judge John Neilan at Mullingar District Court, a spokeswoman for the Minister said he had made it clear it was up to each judge how he runs his court.
Last week, Mr McDowell said the judge's proposal to jail those who came before him on drink-driving charges would be unlawful.
"He believes it would be illegal and unconstitutional to have a general policy to jail all convicted drunk drivers for a week," a spokeswoman for the Minister said.
"The Attorney General confirmed this view . . . the comment speaks for itself. He was not interfering."
Judge Neilan said today in Mullingar District Court he would not hear drink driving prosecutions for the next six months.
He said his refusal to hear such cases would show his "absolute belief that justice is beyond reproach" and that he was taking the action to protect the independence and integrity of the judicial system.
Fine Gael's justice spokesman, Mr Jim O'Keeffe, said the judge's comments today had highlighted the "lack of judgment" shown by Mr McDowell in publicly commenting last week on the issues raised by the judge.
"There is a well-accepted separation between the judiciary and the executive and it is extremely unwise for a Minister for Justice to comment publicly on statements made by judges in the course of hearing cases. The Minister's lack of diplomacy and inability to hold his tongue has contributed to escalating this issue into a major dispute between a member of the judiciary and the executive," he said.
Mr O'Keeffe said the dispute also highlighted the failure of the Government to bring forward its Judicial Conduct and Ethics Bill.
"Had this Bill been enacted, it would have provided a forum for dealing, perhaps informally, with the comments which Judge Neilan made last week about jailing drunk drivers."
Additional reporting: PA