Ireland has far fewer judges, but many more lawyers than other European countries

On pay, Irish judges score high, with a starting salary of almost €130,000 in 2020, compared to a European median of €46,000

The Council of Europe report shows that the number of judges, as a proportion of the population, has not increased in the last 10 years, while the figure for lawyers rose from 239 per 100,000 people to 282. File picture

Ireland has only a sixth of the judges that the typical European country has – but has twice as many lawyers, according to a report.

The Council of Europe (CoE), which incorporates 44 countries from across the continent, estimates that the starting salary of judges in Ireland is almost three times that of the typical salary across member states.