Garda Keith Harrison to challenge tribunal costs ruling

Garda Keith Harrison and his partner Marisa Simms are seeking to challenge the refusal of most of their costs for appearing at the Disclosures Tribunal, the High Court has heard.

Garda Keith Harrison is seeking to challenge the refusal of most of his costs for appearing at the Disclosures Tribunal, the High Court heard.

Last December, tribunal chairman Mr Justice Peter Charleton said he was entitled to the costs of legal representation up to and including the opening day of hearings, but no further costs beyond that point.

Now Garda Harrison wants the High Court to reverse that decision claiming the chairman erred in law.

His counsel Mark Harty SC was on Monday told to make his application seeking to challenge the decision on notice to the tribunal.

Mr Justice Charles Meenan, refusing to grant an application made on a one-side only represented basis, said it obviously raised issues but the correct way was to do it was on notice to the respondent. He said the matter can come back in May.

Mr Harty told the court that the finding of the tribunal that co-operation involved telling the truth as "an objective reality" was not supported by law.

Not telling the truth does not mean getting things wrong but involves giving misleading information, he said. In this case, there was no finding of giving false and misleading information, he said.

The nature of a tribunal is that it is not part of the justice system but is a fact finding exercise on behalf of the Oireachtas, he said.

This story was updated at 7.23pm