Planning Tribunal to rule on costs

The Planning Tribunal will next week rule if former minister Ray Burke should be granted costs, it emerged tonight.

Judge Alan Mahon will rule on Monday in respect of Mr Burke’s €10.5 million application for legal costs.

Many of the groups who were implicated in corruption in Justice Feargus Flood’s second interim report have launched proceedings against the tribunal.

It is believed that the bill could run to millions of euros if the Judge rules in favour of granting legal costs to those found guilty of hindering or obstructing the investigation.

There will be a ruling on Tuesday on whether the builders, Thomas Brennan and Joseph McGowan, are to be granted their legal costs.

In July, lawyers for Mr Brennan and Mr McGowan appeared before Judge Alan Mahon to look for payment of their clients’ €2.67 million euros legal costs.

Mr Burke, Mr Brennan and Mr McGowan were among 16 people found to have hindered or obstructed the tribunal, which was initially set up in 1997 to examine allegations of corruption in the planning process over land in north Co Dublin.

The Tribunal chair, Judge Mahon, has already outlined the criteria he will use to make his decision on whether to grant costs.

Judge Mahon will be considering several factors, including whether the party knowingly providing information that was false or misleading.

Both Attorney General Rory Brady and Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy have argued that groups found to have adversely affected the tribunal should not be given costs.