District judge claimed 86,451 in expenses

9 August 2006
Emma Browne

One District Court judge claimed €86,451 in expenses in 2004. On average 46 District Court judges claimed almost €24,000 each in expenses. Circuit Court judges claimed on average over €25,000, with one claiming €63,304. By Emma Browne

A District Court judge claimed €86,451 in expenses for 2004 – the largest expenses claim for that year. The largest claim by a Circuit Court judge was €63,304 in 2004. In total, 46 District Court judges claimed €1.1m in 2004. In the Circuit Court, 34 judges claimed a total of €861,888. In 2005, 131 judges across all courts claimed €1.9m in expenses.

The Courts Service released these figures to Village as part of a Freedom of Information request on judges' expenses. All judges can claim expenses for travel, subsistence, judicial attire and incidental expenses. There are 131 judges in the courts – nine Supreme Court, 33 High Court, 34 Circuit Court and 55 District Court. A breakdown of judges' expenses for 2005 is not available yet.

The two courts with the most expenses were the District Court (€996,299) and the Circuit Court (€800,772). Supreme Court judges claimed just €19,839. High Court judges claimed €102,200. Subsistence accounted for 66 per cent of the expenses claimed in 2004.

In 2003, judges in the District Court claimed €940,000 in expenses. In the Circuit Court, €683,000 was claimed. The largest expenses claim was in the District Court, €51,169. In the Circuit Court, the largest claim was €50,277.

Judges also receive a large salary. Circuit Court judges earn €149,461. A District Court judge earns €154,797. Supreme Court judges are the highest paid, with salaries of €217,071. Judges in the High Court earn €204,618 a year. The presidents of the High Court, Circuit Court and District Court earn slightly more than the basic salary.

As well as their salaries and expenses claims, the Chief Justice and the President of the High Court are assigned Garda drivers. All Supreme Court judges and presidents of the High Court, Circuit Court and District Court have personal secretaries. Judges of the Circuit, Supreme and High Courts are assisted by ushers or criers – effectively are personal assistants. All other judges may access nine researchers and a secretarial unit.

Expenses claimed 2004

District Court Circuit Court

1 €86,451 €63,304

2 €64,882 €56,817

3 €51,204 €53,815

4 €49,265 €50,532

5 ?48,857 €50,123

6 €47,058 €46,485

7 €42,364 €45,914

8 €41,299 €45,809

9 €38,859 €44,560

10 €38,126 €44,560