Mo money Cabinet agrees plan to give pay increase to judges

JUDGES are to be entitled to pay rises along with the rest of the public service under a plan approved by ministers today.

It is understood that ministers signed off on the proposal - which is in line with increases elsewhere in the public sector.

Pensions that were previously reduced are also to be restored.

The move comes against the backdrop of anger at the Government's refusal to introduce pay for students nurses.

Judges have previously complained about their pay and conditions.

In 2017 Mr Justice George Birmingham of the Court of Appeal said the best candidates were not applying to become judges due to pay cuts and pension changes.

In letters to Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, he called for an independent body to be set up to deal with the remuneration and terms and conditions for judges.

Mr Justice Birmingham told the minister that judicial pensions were "not nearly as attractive as might appear at first glance" and reference to them being gold-plated were "very wide of the mark".

He made the comments in his capacity as president of the Association of Judges of Ireland, a body made up of the majority of the country's judges.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet also approved a €9,000 increase in the allowance on offer to the Sinn Féin party whip.

The Donegal TD Pádraig MacLochlainn will now be entitled to €19,000 as the whip for the largest Opposition Party.

This is the same sum available to the Fianna Fáil whip in the last Dáil.

The Sinn Féin assistant whip will be entitled to €9,500, up from €5,000.

The sum on offer the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael whips is now set at €10,000.

There is an allowance of €6,000 for the Green Party, Labour and Social Democrats whip.

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Online Editors