The Government will not now have a motion for the impeachment of Judge Brian Curtin ready for today's meeting of the Cabinet as promised, it emerged yesterday. This follows the receipt of a letter from solicitors for the judge last Friday.
According to Government sources, the letter from Judge Curtin's solicitor, Mr Richard Pierse, denied any impropriety on the part of his client. It said he suffered from a psychiatric disorder, and so it was difficult for his lawyers to take instructions.
It also asked for sight of any motion that would be put to the Oireachtas setting up a committee to inquire into the judge's behaviour. All these points are now being considered by the Government and its legal advisers.
Last week the Taoiseach told the Dáil that a motion setting up a committee to hear evidence about the circumstances that led to Judge Curtin being charged with the possession of child pornography would be put to the Dáil not later than today.
He said the proposed joint Oireachtas committee would hear evidence in private, and would bring its report to the two Houses of the Oireachtas. It would not make any findings of fact or recommendations. Both Houses of the Oireachtas would then vote on a motion to impeach the judge, if such a motion was put.
Judge Curtin has engaged a powerful legal team to assist him in dealing with the Oireachtas and any future committee. As well as Mr Patrick MacEntee SC and Mr Paul Burns BL, who represented him in the criminal trial in Tralee, he has engaged former Attorney General Mr John Rogers SC and Mr James O'Reilly SC.
While the Taoiseach has ruled out any deal with the judge, the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, speaking to journalists in Cork last week, refused to rule out negotiations, but said that this had not arisen.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party has called on the Taoiseach to make a full statement and Fine Gael has challenged the Minister for Justice to explain his role in the judge's appointment. The Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, said in Tullamore yesterday: "Michael McDowell, the then Attorney General, was a member of the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board which recommended the appointment of Mr Brian Curtin as judge of the Circuit Court in 2001. I understand that Minister McDowell made inquiries about Mr Curtin prior to that appointment being approved by the Cabinet.
"I am calling on Michael McDowell to clarify if he made such inquiries and, if he did, whether he received any information which might have affected Mr Curtin's suitability for appointment as a judge. I also want to know which members of the Cabinet, or members of the Progressive Democrats party, lobbied Mr McDowell on Brian Curtin's behalf."
The Progressive Democrats insisted last night they had never lobbied for Mr Curtin's appointment.
Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent, writes: The delay in putting the Curtin motion before the Houses of the Oireachtas was due to "surmountable procedural issues", Government sources said last night.
"We don't want to start on something like this until we are absolutely sure that it is going to work," one source told The Irish Times. The Seanad is "very keen" to ensure that the motion setting up the investigation committee is put before the Upper House on the same day as it is dealt with by the Dáil.Despite the Government's promise to consult fully with the Opposition, it has emerged that no information has been passed since last Friday. However, the Government Chief Whip, Ms Mary Hanafin, promised Opposition whips yesterday that the Government would not bring the motion into the Dáil without notice.