‘Struggling’ judges call for salary cut to be reversed

George Birmingham, president of the Association of Judges of Ireland, set out the judges’ case in a letter sent this week to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

Judge Birmingham wrote that there “are members of the judiciary who are struggling to get by and can ill afford to wait”.

Judicial salaries were cut by between 24 per cent and 30 per cent following the financial crisis. A judge in the District Court now earns €111,000 instead of €123,000 before the cuts.

The Constitution was amended by referendum in 2011 to relax the the previous prohibition on the reduction of Irish judges’ salaries.

Judge Birmingham added: “Moreover, because the restoration will not take place on the due date and on the same date as all the other public servants that are benefitting there is a real risk that when the restoration eventually takes place that it will be misreported in the media as representing some sort of special increase for judges.”