Lawyers get €250,000 to ‘watch’ tribunal

WHILE the chief whistleblowers at the centre of the tribunal investigating garda corruption in Donegal have been denied paid legal representation, the Department of Justice has paid almost €250,000 to barristers just to keep a watching brief on proceedings.

The McBrearty family and associates have repeatedly and unsuccessfully appealed to the Justice Minister Michael McDowell for interim costs. Now it has emerged that a senior and junior counsel have been paid €238,000 to represent Minister McDowell’s department since the tribunal was set up two years ago.

The Minister and his department have only a peripheral involvement in the tribunal.

Up to the end of September, more than €13m had been spent on the tribunal, €6.6m of it in legal fees.

That €6.6m includes the payments to legal representatives of the department and of the Garda Commissioner and dozens of gardaí. The legal fees of the remaining gardaí, apart from one, Supt Kevin Lennon, are being paid for by representative organisations.

Frank McBrearty Snr yesterday repeated an appeal for his family and associates to be treated as a special case, given that it is clear they are the wronged parties and that it was largely through their efforts that the tribunal was set up.

A Department of Justice spokesman said: “The Minister has no powers in relation to tribunal costs. It’s a matter for the Morris Tribunal.”

Mr Justice Frederick Morris has said he is bound by tribunal rules that mean he can only make orders on costs after reporting on each module.

Mr McBrearty said there are precedents: the Government guaranteed the legal costs of some involved in the Lindsay Tribunal into infected blood products; and the Stardust inquiry into the deaths of 48 youngsters following a fire at a night club.

The McBrearty’s legal team has been working with them for eight years now as the family faced dozens of summonses in the District Court, lodged cases in the High Court and fought to establish the public inquiry. They have received little or no payment.

Mr McBrearty Snr said his lawyers cannot afford to wait for another three years for payment. A private attempt to have a different legal team represent them was rejected by the family.

“It’s very unfair for the lawyers to sit in for three or four years and not have any money especially where you have the Garda representatives, the Commissioner and even the Minister having their fees paid,” said Mr McBrearty.