Taxpayers face €23m tribunal legal bill

MORIARTY Tribunal lawyers have billed taxpayers for €23 million in legal fees for their decade-long investigations into payments to politicians.

The long-running tribunal, which first sat 10 years ago on October 31, 1997, has cost €29,748,614 in administration and legal costs. And it is expected to cost an additional €10m in third-party costs.

During Taoiseach’s Questions in the Dáil yesterday, Bertie Ahern declined to speculate on how much the final bill would be when the tribunal concludes its work in the next few months.