The Taoiseach says there’s nothing the Government can do in the case of a woman who made allegations of inappropriate conduct by a former Kerry District Court judge.
He was speaking after People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy used Dáil privilege again to name retired Kerry district court judge, James O'Connor yesterday.
Three women have come forward alleging that the former judge engaged in inappropriate behaviour after they had appeared in his court.
James O'Connor hasn’t commented publicly on the allegations.
The Judicial Council says it couldn’t deal with a complaint because Mr O’Connor had retired prior to its investigative powers commencing.
Deputy Paul Murphy asked what the Government is doing to ensure incidents, similar to what’s alleged in Kerry, don’t happen again:
In response, Taoiseach Mícheál Martin says he’s aware of the allegations against the former Kerry District Court judge.
He says the situation isn’t satisfactory, but says new structures have been put in place for the disciplining of judges and maintaining a high standard.
Taoiseach Mícheál Martin says while these structures aren’t retrospective, he’s hopeful they’ll be a clear pathway for those wishing to make complaints:
