The Government is determined to secure the resignation of Judge Brian Curtin before next week's Cabinet meeting, following a direct warning that it would otherwise impeach him, writes Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, increased the pressure on Judge Curtin, who was acquitted last week on charges of possession of child pornography.
However, the Cabinet placed responsibility for the next move on Mr Curtin's shoulders, giving him one week to offer his version of the events that led to his arrest.
The Tralee-based judge, appointed to the Circuit Court in Cork in late 2001, qualifies for a judicial pension because he has over two years' service, even though he heard cases for only eight months.
The Department of the Taoiseach was quick to let it be known yesterday afternoon that officials there were already examining the pension rights due to him from his €130,000-a-year post.
If he resigned immediately he would qualify for a pension of over €10,000 a year: "Those are his entitlements. Pension rights are not compensation," said a Government official yesterday.
In a letter to Judge Curtin, the Secretary General to the Government, Mr Dermot McCarthy, told him the Cabinet was seeking a response by next Tuesday.
Hinting strongly at the probability of impeachment proceedings, the letter went on to say that his reply would "enable the Government to decide on its own appropriate action - whether at Oireachtas level or otherwise".
Speaking at the Garda Representative Association in Donegal, Mr McDowell said the Cabinet will postpone further action until next Tuesday: "But he should realise that the Government strongly believes that this is a matter of very serious consequence and that (the Government) must act urgently to restore the confidence the people should have in the judiciary."
Under Article 35.4.1 of the Constitution, High Court and Supreme Court judges can only be removed from office by a majority vote of the Oireachtas.
Circuit court judges are not covered by the Constitution, though, under statute, they can be impeached in the same fashion.
However, the Oireachtas has no rules in place to govern the conduct of an impeachment hearing, the Taoiseach conceded to the Dáil last week.So far, it is not clear what standards of proof would be needed against Mr Curtin before TDs and senators could justifiably vote to impeach him.
The evidence seized in the Garda raid on Judge Curtin's home would not be admissible in any Oireachtas impeachment because the warrant was executed too late.
Secondly, the judge may be able to challenge some of the remarks made by Mr Noel O'Flynn TD and, indeed, the Minister for Justice.
In the Dáil, Mr Ahern said the Government wanted an explanation from Judge Curtin about the circumstances surrounding "his apparent access to a website and downloading of child pornography images from same". Once a reply is received, the Government would make "a fair and objective assessment as to whether grounds exist for a motion for removal of the judge from office for stated misbehaviour".
The Government decided to give Mr Curtin a week to reply following advice from the Attorney-General, Mr Rory Brady.
However, the Government timetable could be thrown off course if Mr Curtin demands more time to prepare an explanation, or if he refuses to respond to the letter.
The Minister for Justice made clear that Judge Curtin will not be able to survive as a Circuit Court judge, even one who is not given any cases to hear.
"If you hold office as a judge you should exercise that office. It isn't a question of holding office on paper, drawing a salary but not exercising your constitutional function to administer justice. That is not an acceptable outcome."
The Taoiseach said Judge Curtin would not get compensation if he was impeached: "There is no provision for this and no justification for it on such removal."
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr James Hamilton, and the Garda Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy, have also been asked to supply written reports.
Mr Conroy has already given a preliminary reply and a copy of all "the material on which the prosecution was based", Mr McDowell said.