Moriarty Tribunal expenses top €1.7m

More than €1.7m in costs and expenses has been paid by the Moriarty Tribunal to 13 witnesses to date, but the total bill to the taxpayer could run into tens of millions of euro.

Some of the claims so far for third parties relate to politicians and political parties, sources say, but dozens more claims for expenses have yet to be ruled upon by Judge Moriarty.

Figures obtained by the Irish Examiner show the amount paid to third parties to date, which amounts to an average €137,000 per claim.

More than 80 witnesses appeared in 384 hearings from Jan 1999 to Nov 2010 during public sittings. These included businessman Denis O’Brien, TD Michael Lowry, former taoiseach John Bruton, businessman Ben Dunne, telecoms consultants, a range of officials from government departments and the Attorney General’s office, former tánaiste Dick Spring, and former banker Michael Fingleton, among others.

The inquiry was established in 1997 to look into the financial affairs of former taoiseach Charles Haughey and the former Fine Gael communications minister Michael Lowry.

It also examined the awarding of the State’s second mobile phone licence in the 1990s and concluded Mr Lowry, as a minister, imparted substantive information to Mr O’Brien that helped the businessman’s company win the contract. Mr O’Brien also paid Mr Lowry hundreds of thousands of pounds, the report found.

The €1.78m allocated by Judge Moriarty to third parties is being considered by the Chief State Solicitor’s Office, the department said. A spokesman added: “These claimed costs will be subject to negotiation and agreement.

“Failing agreement, they will go to taxation before the taxing master of the High Court.”

Judge Moriarty has held no public sittings to date on costs and claims for witnesses, lawyers or third parties in general.

A tribunal spokeswoman would not comment on whether or when hearings might be held on third party claims.

The tribunal has cost over €41m to date, most of this going on internal legal costs, but could end up costing the taxpayer tens of millions of euro more when outside legal costs and third party claims are finally decided.

The final costs could reach over €100m.

A report from the Comptroller and Auditor General in Dec 2010 suggested that potential third-party costs associated with the tribunal couldultimately range between €39m and €80m.