Tribunal costs - We must find a better way

In the past 12 years, 19 judicial tribunals were established. Their extravagant costs and seemingly interminable legal wrangling have seriously damaged the public standing of the legal profession.

The Public Accounts Committee was informed yesterday that the Mahon, Moriarty, and Morris Tribunals could end up costing the State about €370m. The Mahon Tribunal could cost as much as €194m. Revenue recovered some €32m as a result of disclosures before the Mahon Tribunal, and the Criminal Assets Bureau seized a further €18.7m. Some may, therefore, argue that the tribunals were necessary to expose wrongdoing.

One Fianna Fáil deputy contended that the tribunal process was open to a charge of cronyism. The chairman of each tribunal had the sole responsibility for choosing the barristers to work on behalf of the State.

They earned more than €2,000 a day. Six lawyers at the Moriarty Tribunal earned over €1m. Two senior counsels were paid €8.5m, another earned €5.8m.

The extravagant tribunal process was essentially used to investigate matters that should first have been investigated by the gardaí. A better way must be found.