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TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN said he will meet with party leaders today “to get an idea” of how they view the controversy surrounding Supreme Court Justice Seamus Woulfe.
“I want to meet with the other party leaders today to get an idea of how they see this. It is very serious, it is serious. The separation of powers is something I really appreciate. It is a crucial part of our democracy. And so there is a reluctance for the political system to get involved in the judicial arm of government.
“However, this issue must be considered. In the first instance for the political system. I am grateful and I appreciate the fact that the political leaders throughout the Dáil have been very restrained, ”he said.
The Taoiseach said he too had to be careful in his comments in case an impeachment motion comes into play and he has to play a role in that process.
On the subject of the indictment, Martin said he “is not even contemplating that right now.”
“I want to say that it is not, if that will happen or not will be a final decision of the Oireachtas.
“I think the initial situation here is that my role in government is to ensure continued trust, both in our legislative system and in our judicial arm. And that is the goal that I have in entering into these conversations with the opposition leaders. So I’m not getting ahead of what may finally come of this. Suffice it to say that I am determined to preserve the integrity of our system and that we do everything possible to protect the Supreme Court itself, ”he said.
The party leaders will meet shortly, at 2.30 pm.
Speaking before today’s meeting, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said it was “evidently the case” that Woulfe’s position as Supreme Court justice was not defensible.
“The facts of public knowledge are that the Chief Justice suggested by letter, which is now a matter of public domain, that Judge Woulfe should resign. And I think that clearly creates a problem, and clearly a problem around the viability of justice, which is why we are meeting today, “McDonald said. RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne.
When asked if this amounted to believing that this position was untenable, McDonald said: “When the Chief Justice has lost confidence in him, yes, so I would have thought that’s clearly the case.”
The discussions about what should happen next came after it was revealed that Chief Justice Frank Clarke had informed Woulfe of his personal opinion that Woulfe should resign from the state’s highest court.
The move came in the aftermath of Woulfe’s attendance at the controversial Oireachtas Golf Society dinner in Clifden in August.
Clarke told Woulfe in a letter dated November 5 that it was “the unanimous opinion of all members of the Court” that the matter had caused “significant and irreparable damage” to the court.
The possible removal of a judge is possible under article 35.4 of the Constitution for “declared misconduct”, but this would have to be approved by both the Dáil and the Seanad.
Any DT can file an impeachment motion of this type for the above reason.
With that perspective now being publicly discussed, the Ceann Comhairle on Tuesday warned TDs not to comment on the controversy should they be required to “speak on the matter.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin also said that he wanted to speak to all party leaders on the matter and that the meeting is scheduled for this afternoon.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar reiterated Ceann Comhairle’s warning, telling TDs and Fine Gael senators Wednesday night to avoid commenting on the issues.
The cabinet considered correspondence between the Chief Justice and Woulfe on Tuesday and also sought the advice of the Attorney General.
The Attorney General referred to the “serious constitutional problems” that have arisen.
McDonald said he hoped the Attorney General’s advice would be shared with the opposition.
“I will enter with a ready and open mind. I want to hear what the government has to say and, more importantly, what the Attorney General has to say, ”he said.
Labor leader Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach to make available any further correspondence between the Chief Justice and Woulfe.
“It is quite obvious that there is other correspondence between the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Woulfe and that we only have partial correspondence. In fact, Judge Woulfe says that the publication of all correspondence cannot be good for ‘any of us, neither for the Court nor for the public interest,’ “Kelly said.
Kelly said the Chief Justice stated in his correspondence that “more serious problems now arise from both aspects of the transcripts of his interview with Ms. Justice Denham and elements of the correspondence between us.”
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Today, he said that the whole thing is very serious.
The Irish Times reported this morning that Cabinet was not informed in July that other justices had expressed interest in the vacancy on the Supreme Court before Woulfe was selected.
Speaking on the matter, the Taoiseach said that only one name is brought into the cabinet when a judge is appointed.
Woulfe had gone through the judicial appointments advisory board (JAB) process, he said. He said they did not tell him that other judges had expressed interest.
He said the advisory board is made up of the senior judges themselves and they had selected Woulfe. “As far as I’m concerned, that was from my perspective,” Martin said, adding that “he had no difficulty in ratifying that.”
The new legislation will address the appointment of judges in the future, Martin said.
“The less political participation in the appointment of judges the better. And that’s why I was happy to step back and say okay, JAB has made a nomination here. I am happy to ratify that nomination, ”he said.
Woulfe had been Attorney General in the previous government between 2017 and 2020.
Kelly said this revelation has raised more questions.
“As a higher court, it is natural that most of the requests come from acting judges in lower courts. Did any of the party leaders or other cabinet ministers think to ask why the names of the acting judges were not presented or was the appointment of the former Attorney General agreed in advance? he said.
A review of Woulfe’s attendance at the Clifden dinner by former Chief Justice Susan Denham found that it would be “unfair and disproportionate” for the judge to resign, and subsequently refused to do so.
– With a report by Rónán Duffy
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