New forum has been created for judges and Government, says Chief Justice

The row over judicial independence appeared to abate last night after the Chief Justice confirmed a new forum had been set up for discussions between judges and the Government.

It is understood the forum, known internally as the Working Group for Renewal, comprises the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Susan Denham; the Attorney General, Máire Whelan; the secretary general to the Government, Martin Fraser; and the president of the Association of Judges of Ireland, Mr Justice Peter Kelly. It also includes representatives of each court jurisdiction.

Serious concern
In her first public intervention on the row between judges and Minister for Justice Alan Shatter, Mrs Justice Denham said there were "issues of serious concern" to the judiciary and praised the "energy and commitment" of her colleagues on the bench "in reacting to the situation the State has found itself in the past few years".

Mrs Justice Denham said that given the concerns of the judiciary, she recently proposed to Government there should be “more regular engagement to facilitate constructive discussion” on matters of mutual concern and interest to the judiciary and the executive.

“This process has now commenced, and a further meeting was held last Monday,” she said in a speech at Griffith College Dublin last night. “In due course, I intend to meet the Taoiseach to discuss the issues of mutual concern that emerge.”

Judges are angry over a range of issues which they say threaten their independence, including pay, pensions and future appointments. In a statement on Monday, the Association of Judges of Ireland said lines of communication between the judiciary and the executive had collapsed.

The association issued a further statement last night saying it was satisfied, having met the Attorney General yesterday, that its concerns on judicial independence were “fully understood” and that progress would be made “by mutual co-operation” in resolving issues.

In her remarks, Mrs Justice Denham said the proposal for a court of appeal was one of several topics on which she had had “many constructive meetings with the Minister for Justice in relation to future developments and reforms in the courts”.

“While I have had constructive discussions with the Taoiseach on matters relevant to the executive and the judiciary, the normal conduit between the judiciary and the executive is the Attorney General. That avenue of contact continues as a positive and proper route,” she said.

Mrs Justice Denham said it was “clear” new structures for discussion were needed.

Tribute to judges
Paying tribute to fellow judges, the chief justice said: "I cannot say enough about the energy and commitment of my colleagues on the bench . . .

“They have – in court – imaginatively and with deep compassion dealt with those who have been led to the courts by debt issues. They have in work practice continued to show an enormous willingness to change and to undertake more work with less resources.”

She said, according to one calculation, the Courts Service had increased productivity by 25 per cent over recent years. “The judges of Ireland are undertaking a key role – patriotically – as they maintain the rule of law, and the democratic nature of our State, in these difficult and troubled times, and I am honoured to work with them through this time of national economic crisis.”