Anglo trial trio are DPP best-paid barristers

Three members of the State’s prosecution team in the long-running Anglo trial are the top three best-paid barristers by the DPP for the first six months of this year.

New figures released by the DPP in response to a Freedom of Information request show that Una Ní Raifeartaigh was the best- paid prosecutor in the country between January and June of this year, receiving €272,100 that included €50,881 in Vat.

The payments received by Ms Ní Raifeartaigh to the end of June already surpass the €239,577 in fees she received for prosecuting cases in 2013 when ranked the best-paid prosecutor in the country.

The figures relating to Ms Ní Raifeartaigh’s colleagues on the State team in the Anglo trial show Paul O’Higgins received €268,989 including Vat of €50,299 between January and June, with Paul Anthony McDermott receiving €195,977 that included €36,646 in Vat.

Figures released by the DPP show the pay to four counsel for the Anglo trial totalled €1m.

The cost of paying the State counsel in the Anglo trial contributed to the DPP’s overall bill for barristers increasing by 9% for the six-month period, rising to €7.37m from €6.75m compared to the same period last year.

The payments between January and June 2014 are made up of €5.99m in fees and Vat of €1.378m

The Anglo trial figures show Ms Ní Raifeartaigh received €238,593 in fees for the trial, along with an additional €265,487 in pre- trial work, giving her a total of €504,090 (inc Vat).

A note attached to the information provided by the DPP states that, apart from the fees paid to counsel for the Anglo trial, “significant amounts have been paid to counsel in relation to work on other related files submitted by the gardaí relevant to their investigations”.

The note states that some of this work related to the Anglo trial. The figures show that Paul O’Higgins received €238,817 in direct fees for the Anglo trial and an additional €85,607 in pre-trial work.

A regular legal pundit on TV and radio, Paul Anthony McDermott, received a total of €152,104, largely made up of the €148,174 in fees on the Anglo trial. A fourth counsel, Diana Stuart, received €96,686 in fees, mainly made up of €61,238 for pre-trial work.

The DPP figures show that the 25 top-earning counsel for the first six months of this year received €2.4m in fees.

This list includes political pundit Noel Whelan BL, who is ranked fourth and received €152,887 in fees including €28,589 in Vat.

The only other barrister to receive fees in excess of €150,000 for the first six months was Conor Fahy BL who received €150,328 that included VAT of €28,110.

Barrister John O’Sullivan, who has been involved in numerous prosecutions of gang members in Limerick, received €115,360 that included Vat of €28,589.

In prosecuting cases in the Central Criminal Court for murder trials, senior counsel receive a brief fee of €7,127 and a daily refresher fee of €1,562.