The Oireachtas investigation into the behaviour of Judge Brian Curtin may continue into the autumn before the Government decides whether to propose a motion to impeach him, writes Mark Brennock, Chief Political Correspondent
It appeared last night that all parties would agree to take part in a committee of TDs and senators to hold formal hearings on the alleged downloading of child pornography from the Internet by the judge.
The Attorney General, Mr Rory Brady, is expected to give detailed briefings later today on the Government's plan to handle the legally fraught process of dealing with the alleged misbehaviour of a judge.
The all-party committee, which is likely to be established by a Dáil motion next Tuesday, will hear evidence on the matter in private and report to the Oireachtas on what it has found.
It will then be up to the Oireachtas to decide whether to take the unprecedented step of passing an impeachment motion to remove the judge from the bench for "stated misbehaviour or incapacity". The committee will not make recommendations or findings of fact, but will merely report on the evidence.
Government sources said last night that, while no timescale had been set, the process may take several months. Those appearing before the committee will be entitled to legal representation.
A Government spokeswoman said last night that the judge had indicated that he would co-operate with the Oireachtas on the issue, but not with the Government, which, he said, was not entitled to inquire into his behaviour.
The Taoiseach told the Dáil that under the legislation governing the hearing of evidence by committees, a judge could not be compelled to attend.
However, assuming he does co-operate, the Government spokeswoman said that, once the committee had reported, an appearance by the judge before the Dáil and Seanad, which would be voting on whether to remove him from office, could not be ruled out.
Yesterday's Government decision came despite some Cabinet concern that any move to remove the judge from the bench could be challenged in the courts. Mindful of the need to be seen to give the judge due process, the Taoiseach insisted yesterday that the Government had not yet decided whether to propose an impeachment motion.
He said there would be no place for "party political interests" in the process, indicating that a free vote was likely should a motion to impeach the judge be put before the Oireachtas. The Cabinet yesterday saw for the first time the letter from Judge Curtin's solicitor in response to a request from the Government for an explanation of the fact that he was accused of possessing child pornography.
In his trial on that charge he was found not guilty on the direction of the trial judge after it was ruled that the search warrant used to seize Judge Curtin's personal computer was out of date when it was executed.
The letter has not been released, but it is understood to say that, because the Government may put forward a motion to remove the judge from office, it is not the appropriate body to ask him to answer questions on the issue. However, according to the Taoiseach the letter said the judge would respond "appropriately" to any Oireachtas investigation.
Mr Ahern told the Dáil yesterday that a detailed motion would now be drafted inviting the Dáil and Seanad to resolve "to establish a joint committee to investigate, in the light of Article 35 (4) of the Constitution and the terms of that motion, certain matters of public concern in relation to Judge Curtin's conduct".
Article 35(4) allows for the removal of a judge from office upon resolutions passed by the Dáil and Seanad calling for his removal.
The Fine Gael justice spokesman, Mr Jim O'Keeffe, said last night that the Oireachtas was in "a legislative limbo" arising from what he said was the Government's failure to legislate for how to deal with judicial misconduct and ethics. He would be attending a briefing with the Attorney General, probably today.