The Common Sense Award of the week goes to Fianna Fail’s Limerick TD Niall Collins, who has called for a referendum to be held on the thorny issue of judges salaries.
This follows the controversy that only 19 judges have so far agreed to make voluntary contributions in lieu of the pension levy.
Our Constitution states that the remuneration of a judge cannot be reduced while they are in office. So that got Niall thinking.
“This group of elite untouchables should be subjected to the regular procedures administering the pay of higher civil servants,” he said.
“In the modern day, being protected by the Constitution is simply not good enough given that many thousands of people and their families are suffering falling incomes and job losses.”
“I feel with the forthcoming Lisbon 2 referendum, we have an early opportunity to address this issue through a vote of the people. Many of the working practices of the courts and the judiciary need modernising and this is now an opportune time for that,” he said.
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