Now the media should tackle legal expenses

GIVEN that we live in a democratic republic where the rule of law should apply equally to all citizens, where culpability should be fairly apportioned, where parity of blame and punishment should be applied without fear or favour, I regard the decision of the taxing master to reduce a legal bill in a recent judicial review case by a whopping 82% as a welcome development.

It is perhaps indicative of the state’s intention to apply with some equanimity the austerity measures which have been inflicted on workers, the unemployed, the sick and those in receipt of social welfare.

Charles Moran, the taxing master, ruling in a case involving the Personal Injuries Assessment Board and a firm of solicitors, expressed his “disgust and bewilderment” at the level of costs claimed which he described as “revolting in the extreme”.