The meter on Burke’s legal bill runs on

RAY BURKE will probably welcome the fact that neither he nor his legal team were required to attend Dublin Castle yesterday to hear the Planning Tribunal chairman, Judge Alan Mahon, issue a ruling that will see him out of pocket for some considerable time.

It is likely to be the only consolation that the former TD can derive from the latest ignominy since the Tribunal deemed him a corrupt politician in a landmark report published two years ago.

In fairness, the decision can hardly come as a surprise to the one-time Fianna Fáil bigwig, who has seen his reputation disintegrate since the inquiry first began examining allegations of his involvement in planning corruption back in 1997.