ONE DISTRICT Court judge last year received more than three times the average industrial wage in expenses by claiming €91,909.
The figure is part of €2.3 million claimed by the State’s judiciary last year in expenses, including a 53 per cent rise in the spend on wigs and gowns, totalling €40,138. However, the overall figure for expenses is down 5 per cent from the €2.4 million claimed in 2008.
The figures were released by the Courts Service through the Freedom of Information Act. They show that one District Court judge received €43,448 in travel expenses and an additional €48,461 in subsistence.
The amount claimed by this District Court judge is almost €40,000 higher than the next highest amount of €50,651 claimed by another District Court judge.
The amounts claimed by the two judges – who receive an annual salary of €147,000 – form part of €1.34 million claimed by 64 District Court judges last year, an average of €20,937 each.
The figures show that the highest amount claimed by a Circuit Court judge last year was €41,144.
The identities of the judges concerned are not being revealed by the Courts Service due to security reasons.
In the Government’s 2010 budget, the judiciary escaped any cut on their salaries due to a provision in the Constitution that prohibits their salaries from being lowered. The Chief Justice then agreed a mechanism with the chairwoman of the Revenue Commissioners whereby judges could pay 10 per cent of their salaries on a voluntary basis in lieu of the pension levy. By the end of 2009, 80 per cent of the judges had paid the voluntary levy, with 20 per cent not having done so.
Salaries for judges range from €295,000 for the Chief Justice to €177,554 for a Circuit Court judge, with High Court judges earning €243,000 a year.
In the information provided, the Courts Service’s FOI unit state that “in some instances, expenses paid to judges include arrears from previous years”.
The unit also explains the disparity in the amounts claimed by some Circuit and District Court judges.
It states : “There are 55 Circuit Court venues and 126 District Court venues outside of Dublin. The amount of travel and subsistence expenses paid to judges varies . . . judges based in Dublin have little travel and subsistence expenses. Judges assigned to larger geographical areas have substantial travel between court venues within the area.
“In addition, there are judges who are not permanently assigned to specific court district or circuits. These judges are assigned by the presidents of the respective courts to venues around the country to cover annual leave, sick leave and to provide assistance to assigned judges.”
