Fine Gael will today move a Bill seeking a change in the Constitution to allow for a reduction in the pay of judges.
In a statement today, Fine Gael spokesman Alan Shatter said: "One area that has clearly been shown to be unfair is the unequal implementation of the recent public sector pension levy and its application only to those judges who volunteered to pay the levy.
“Fine Gael believes that this is fundamentally unfair. We recognise and accept the requirement for the executive and the judiciary to remain separate, but when the public finances are in as drastic a situation as they are now it is only right and proper that all public servants, including judges, make their fair contribution.
He called for a referendum to change the Constitution in conjunction with the proposed Children’s Referendum scheduled to take place next year to avoid additional cost in the conducting a vote.
“If we are to make the type of far reaching, radical and difficult decisions to get our economy back on track we have to be able to show the public that we are serious about changing how we do our business," Mr Shatter said.
Judges’ pay has been controversial as members of the judiciary benefited from increases awarded by the last report on higher remuneration in late 2007.
However, this year the Government could not subject judges to the pension levy in line with other public servants because of the constitutional bar.
The Chief Justice, Mr Justice John Murray, later announced a scheme of voluntary contributions from judges. In late September, the Revenue Commissioners published figures that showed that 72 of the 144 judges had made payments.
Salaries of judges range from €147,000 for a district judge to €295,000 for the Chief Justice. A new report on higher pay in the public service is due to be published at about the time of the budget. It recommends cuts in salaries, reportedly between 10 to 15 per cent, but those measures will not apply to judges.
Article 35.5 of the Constitution states: “The remuneration of a judge shall not be reduced during his continuance in office.”
The Fine Gael proposal would allow it to be reduced “where it is necessary to address a serious threat to the State’s economy, [and] there is a compelling need to stabilise the State’s finances.”