February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
An Oireachtas committee, consisting of TDs and senators, is to hear Curtin’s case in the coming weeks. A motion, establishing the committee, will be brought before the Oireachtas before next Tuesday, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Dail yesterday.
The cabinet made the decision following a letter from the circuit court judge that effectively challenged the government to remove him from the bar. If the move is successful it will be the first time in the history of the Irish state that the Oireachtas has taken such steps.
Curtin’s letter followed the collapse of a case against him last month. Gardai recovered graphic images of child pornography from a computer in the judge’s Tralee home, but the case was thrown out of court when it was found that the search warrant used was used one day out of date.
Public outrage at the turn of events has forced the Fianna Fail-Progressive Democrat-led coalition government to call on Curtin to resign. Curtin’s letter, delivered to the secretary general last Thursday, is thought to have rejected attempts to have him removed from the bar. The judge is understood to have claimed that the government has no right to inquire into his case.
Addressing the Dail, Ahern called on members of the Oireachtas to refrain from commenting on Curtin’s case in the coming days.
“Because of the nature of this process it is important that those members of the House that might be called upon to vote on the motion for removal must keep an open mind on such issues as may be brought before them,” Ahern said.
The committee will have the power to compel witnesses and will have access to legal advice at all stages. Ahern said that the government is also drafting a Bill on Judicial Ethics.
Ahern said that Curtin would not receive a “sweetheart” deal in the event of his removal from the bar. However, Ahern’s tough stance on the matter has been criticized by opposition parties, which believe the government is exploiting the situation for electoral gain in next month’s local and European elections.
Labor Party leader Pat Rabbitte predicted that the government would step back from removing the judge following the elections.
“Everything Fianna F