PROPOSED JUDICIARY pay cuts “don’t make economic sense”, according to a Cork-based District Court judge with 21 years’ service.
Judge Michael Pattwell said the cost of changing the Constitution through a referendum far outweighs the savings from cutting judges’ pay.
The outspoken judge, due to retire at the end of the month, said the Government was “only doing what the people have been clamouring for”.
“I think it is probably a populist move because if you do the figures what is to be saved? About €250,000 per year. It’s going to cost a couple of million to run the referendum, so it just doesn’t make economic sense.”
Judge Pattwell said he was not taking a stand against the proposed pay cut, nor did he know of any colleague that would.
He said to his knowledge more than 90 per cent of judges voted in support of taking a voluntary pay cut of 10 per cent.
“The fact of the matter is that the most democratic act of all is to vote in a general election and only about 60-70 per cent vote in a general election; over 90 per cent of judges did what they felt was the right thing and voted to voluntarily cut their pay by 10 per cent.”
Public service pay cuts were not applied to judges, who earn between €147,000 and €295,000 a year, because of a constitutional clause. Voters will be asked to amend the Constitution in the autumn to give the Government the power to cut judges’ pay.
Asked if he feared pay cuts could be used in the future to influence judges’ decisions following a constitutional change, Judge Patwell said there were elements within Government that he did not trust. “
There are people getting very close now to the seat of power who I wouldn’t trust; they had no problem in being apologists for people who bombed and shot and committed all kinds of atrocities.”
Speaking on Newstalk's Breakfastshow yesterday, Judge Pattwell said he knew judges who were struggling financially.