Vol. 472 No. 5
75 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Justice when the Government decision to delist Judge Lynch was photocopied and circulated by her office to various officials in the Courts Division; whether it was accompanied by an instruction from her or any other person in her Department to implement the decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23628/96]
I refer the Deputy to the report of the inquiry which was established to investigate the failure to inform Judge Lynch of the Government decision of 1 August, 1996 to remove him from the Special Criminal Court. This report outlines the consequence of events surrounding this failure. It deals with the circulation of the Government decision of 1 August, 1996 on pages 3 and 4 and I refer the Deputy particularly to those pages of the report.
76 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Justice whether any other judges have been relieved of membership of the Special Criminal Court since she came into office, other than Judge Dominic Lynch; if so, the dates of the Government decision(s) affecting such a relieving of membership; whether any such judge sat as a member of the Special Criminal Court subsequent to a decision of the Government relieving him/her of membership of the court; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23629/96]
Apart from Judge Dominic Lynch the only other judge to have been relieved of membership of the Special Criminal Court since I came into office was the Honourable Mr. Justice Liam Hamilton who, on 16 May 1995, was removed from membership of the Special Criminal Court. He was replaced by the Honourable Mr. Justice Richard Johnson on that date. Judge Hamilton did not sit in the Special Criminal Court after the date of the Government decision to relieve him.
