Cabinet crisis as judiciary accuse it of interfering with independence

The Government is facing a major political crisis after the Association of Judges of Ireland (AJI) again accused it of interfering with the independence of the judiciary and claimed all avenues of communication had broken down.

In a statement, the AJI supported comments made by Mr Justice Peter Kelly at a business function where he accused the Government of dismantling the independence of the judiciary “brick by brick”.

Last night’s statement by the AJI is a major embarrassment and challenge to Justice Minister Alan Shatter who earlier yesterday responded to Mr Justice Kelly’s comments saying any suggestion that there was political interference in Ireland’s judicial system could do damage to its international reputation.