Bailey lawyers should not be paid by the taxpayer

Reporting on Ian Bailey’s civil action for damages indicated that the legal costs would be €5m, the allocation of which would be the subject of further negotiation.

Irrespective of the outcome, it was stated that eventually the taxpayer — you and I — would be burdened with the bill. Both sets of legal teams proceeded in the knowledge (if they did not know, they should have known) that elements of the evidence were statute-barred, thus rendering it legally inadmissible.

The ignoring of one of the basic tenets of the legal system suggests that much of the evidence during the 64-day hearing was null and void. So the hearing could be described as a charade.

The legal teams should not qualify for reimbursement by the taxpayer, but should absorb their own costs.

This would conform to the universal principle of all business and administration, for breaches of accepted procedures.

For example, a job application received after the designated date is disqualified, as is a summons with a misspelt name or address.

Mick Callanan

Crookstown

Co. Cork