Legal fees push cost of tribunals to €200m

THE running costs of sitting tribunals will have risen to a staggering €200 million by the end of the year, with legal fees making up the bulk of the spending.

The latest figures emerged as the Government decided yesterday to extend the deadline for the Moriarty Tribunal by six months to June 30, 2006.

Moreover, the extension means the inquiry’s three senior counsel will continue to be paid at the rate of €2,500 per day and not at a reduced fee level of €969 per day that was due to take effect for the tribunal on January 11, 2006.

The tribunal has cost some €21.3m to date; €16m in legal fees.

In the Dáil yesterday, Green Party leader Trevor Sargent asserted the Government had been subject to “blackmail” by the tribunal so that its lawyers could continue to command higher fees.

The latest Government figures show that all tribunals currently sitting had incurred costs of €182m by April of 2005, of which €128m was legal costs.

The inquiries include the Morris Tribunal and the Moriarty and Planning Tribunals, both of which have been sitting for eight years.

However, it is expected that legal costs to third parties - the vast majority of which have not been awarded yet - could raise the final bill to between e500m and €1 billion.

Government sources yesterday confirmed the figures following yesterday’s Cabinet decision to extend the deadline for the completion of the Moriarty Tribunal to June 30, 2006.

When the tribunal chairs agreed to a new fee structure with then Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy in 2004, Mr Justice Moriarty gave a completion date of January 11, 2006.

But following discussions between Mr Justice Moriarty and the Attorney General, the Government agreed to extend the deadline by five-and-a-half months.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Dáil that this was due to unforeseen circumstances, the extensive nature of the terms of reference and litigation by third parties - a reference to Denis O’Brien’s legal challenge.

Under the new arrangement, announced by Mr McCreevy in mid-2004, senior counsel would get reduced fees of €213,000 per annum or €969 per day from agreed dates.

However, under the extension, the Moriarty’s three senior counsels - John Coughlan, Jerry Healy and Jacqueline O’Brien - will continue to be paid the current fee until June.

Mr Ahern said that Mr Justice Moriarty had stated that “to complete the work efficiently and to retain the team, that time was required”. Mr Sargent responded: “Blackmail, in other words.”

Mr Ahern said that comment was “entirely unfair both to the legal team and to Judge Moriarty”.

Government sources indicated yesterday that if the Moriarty Inquiry has not completed its work by June 30, 2006, any further extensions would involve negotiations for reduced fees.