Lawyers to pay for tribunal delays

LAWYERS will be paid at a much reduced rate if tribunals drag on longer than dates announced yesterday by the Government.

Under the new agreement, the Murphy Inquiry into child sexual abuse in Ferns will be completed on December 1, while the Clarke Inquiry into events at Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, should conclude next March.

The Barr Tribunal, which is investigating the shooting dead of John Carty at Abbeylara by the Garda Emergency Response Unit, is supposed to complete its work by June 2005, and the Moriarty Tribunal, investigating payments to Charles Haughey and Michael Lowry should be brought to a conclusion by January 11, 2006.