The Minister for Transport says the row between the government and the Judiciary does not represent a Constitutional crisis.

Leo Varadkar has thrown his support behind the Justice Minister. It comes after Alan Shatter rejected claims made by the Association of Judges that the lines of communication between the government and the judiciary have broken down.

Last week Judge Peter Kelly accused the government of attacking judicial independence with pay cuts for judges and the establishment of new courts.

Calls for Taoiseach intervention 

Meanwhile the Taoiseach is being called on to intervene to avert a full-blown constitutional crisis arising out of a row between the Justice Minister Alan Shatter and the judiciary. The Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said it is time for Enda Kenny to intervene.

Dr. Laura Cahillane is a law lecturer in UCC. She says it is a very serious development.

"Well it is quite serious; I suppose the independece of the judiciary is an incredibly important principal in our Constitution - and the idea is that all of the organs of govenrment are independent and will cooperate with each other" she said.

"So when one organ of govenrment comes out and accuses the other of threatening its independence it is quite a serious thing" she added.

But Minister Varadkar says the government fully respects the independence of judges and says informal contacts happen all the time at the appropriate levels.