The High Court judge who is presiding at the planning tribunal, Mr Justice Flood, retired from the bench yesterday. However, he said he had yet to face "what is undoubtedly my greatest professional challenge in life" - writing the report of the tribunal.
Tributes were paid to Mr Justice Flood when he sat in Court Number 7 of the High Court yesterday for his last day on the bench. He has been associated with the law as a junior counsel, senior counsel and judge for 50 years. Nearly 10 years of these has been as a judge.
While he has now retired as a judge, he will continue to preside at the tribunal.
During his response to the tributes paid to him yesterday, he referred to the task of writing the tribunal report. "I would aspire to tender in my report to Oireachtas na hEireann a factual account of my findings in relation to the matters set out in my terms of reference, to make a fair and informative comment on those facts, and to adequately and faithfully discharge my terms of reference in a clear, just and explicit fashion."
The judge thanked lawyers and court staff as well as the tribunal registrar, Mr Peter Kavanagh, and his crier of nearly 10 years, Mr Philip Gillick, for their assistance at all times.