The Cabinet will consider tomorrow how to proceed in its attempt to have Judge Brian Curtin removed from the bench amid considerable uncertainty over whether a move to impeach him would succeed. Mark Brennock, Chief Political Correspondent, reports.
Last night Government sources said the judge had not yet responded to a letter from the secretary general of the Government, Mr Dermot McCarthy, on behalf of the Cabinet last week. The letter sought any statement the judge wanted to make on the facts which emerged from the prosecution case against him on charges of possessing child pornography.
These facts were outlined in court before the trial collapsed after the presiding judge ruled that the search warrant used to seize Judge Curtin's personal computer was out of date.
The judge was given until tomorrow morning, before the scheduled Cabinet meeting, to respond. The Minister for Justice Mr McDowell said last week that impeachment - a motion before the Oireachtas to remove a judge from office - "is a not improbable consequence".
However, there is considerable political uncertainty over whether an unprecedented impeachment move against the judge could succeed. There has been no indication from the judge as to whether he will resist the Cabinet's attempt to force him from office without paying substantial compensation.
A Government official said last week that if the judge resigned now he would qualify for a pension of just €10,000 per year. He has 18 years to serve before qualifying for a full pension from his €130,000 a year post, and it is estimated that it would cost €4 million to compensate fully for the loss of earnings and pension entitlements. The Government last week appeared to rule out paying anything other than normal pension entitlements.
There have been no discussions between the parties yet on what procedures to adopt should the Government decide to pursue impeachment. Several Opposition figures yesterday expressed doubts privately over whether such proceedings would work.
They were concerned that in circumstances where the DPP could not advance sufficient admissible evidence against the judge to secure a conviction, the Oireachtas would have legal difficulties in punishing the judge by removing him from office in the absence of such evidence.