asked the Minister for Finance whether he will state (1) the amount of money in the Sinn Féin fund prior to the court proceedings; (2) the amount remaining after the proceedings; (3) the names of the counsel engaged and (4) the amount paid to each.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sinn Féin Fund.
The Sinn Féin funds amounted to £18,200 19s. 6d. before the court proceedings were instituted in 1942; they amount at present to £1,704 8s. 1d.
The counsel engaged on behalf of the Attorney-General and the fees paid to them were:—
|
£ |
s. |
d. |
|
|
Kevin Dixon, S.C. (now Mr. Justice Dixon) |
10 |
10 |
0 |
|
Carroll O'Daly, S.C. |
66 |
3 |
0 |
|
Thomas J. Conolly, S.C. |
4 |
4 |
0 |
|
Richard McLoughlin, S.C. |
1,119 |
6 |
0 |
|
Richard McGonigal, S.C. |
1,090 |
19 |
0 |
|
Andreas O'Keeffe, B.L. |
729 |
15 |
0 |
The names of the counsel engaged on behalf of the other parties to the proceedings were:—On behalf of the plaintiffs: the late J. M. Fitzgerald, S.C.; M.J. Ryan, S.C.; C. F. Casey, S.C.; Desmond Bell, S.C.; Padraig O'Donoghue, B.L.; and Roger O'Hanrahan, B.L. On behalf of the defendant, the late Charles Stewart Power: the late E. J. Kelly, S.C.; Cecil Lavery, S.C. (now Mr. Justice Lavery); Michael Binchy, S.C. (now Circuit Judge Binchy); George Murnaghan, S.C.; the late Art O'Connor, S.C. (subsequently Circuit Judge O'Connor); and Thomas Bacon, B.L.
I am not aware of the fees paid to these counsel.
Your pals did very well out of it, did they not?
The only people who did very well out of it were the people engaged on behalf of the Attorney-General.
The lawyers, the Minister's friends.
The only people I know about are the Deputy's pals.
Why did they leave a thousand?
The Minister's friends.
They are not friends of mine.
Professional colleagues.
They are professional colleagues, yes. They were appointed when I came in and they were well worth the money paid to them.
Why did they not take the last thousand?
Might I ask the Minister a supplementary?
Next question, Question No. 42, to the Minister for Defence.