Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 October 2004
31 Ms Burton asked the Minister for Finance the proposed new schedule of fees for existing tribunals and inquiries; the reason the new schedule of fees will not, in a number of cases, apply until 2006; the estimated savings that would accrue in the case of each tribunal or inquiry if the reduced fees were to be applied from 1 September 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24643/04]
Amharc ar fhreagra76 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Finance his views on initiatives proposed by his predecessor on limiting legal fees paid at tribunals. [24816/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 76 together.
My predecessor announced on 19 July last that the Government had decided that, with effect from 1 September 2004, the cost of all legal representation, including that of third parties, at newly established tribunals or other forms of inquiry will be paid by way of a set fee payable for the entirety of the tribunal. The calculation of daily rates will be based on this fee. These rates are as follows: senior counsel —€213,098 pa or €969 per day; junior counsel: €142,065 pa or €646 per day. In the case of a solicitor, the rate is €176,000 pa or €800 per daily appearance or €100 per hour for work other than appearing at the tribunal.
It was also decided at that time that the new fee structure should apply to existing tribunals and inquiries with effect from such dates as may be determined by the Government following consultation between the Attorney General and the chairperson of each tribunal/inquiry. Arising from the above mentioned consultations and as announced in the Government press statement of 5 September last, the Government has agreed the dates on which the new schedule of fees would be applied to most existing tribunals and inquiries. These are as follows: the Murphy inquiry into child sexual abuse in Ferns — 1 December 2004; the Clarke inquiry into events at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda — 31 March 2005; the Barr tribunal investigating the shooting dead of John Carty at Abbylara — 1 June 2005; the Moriarty tribunal investigating payments to Mr. Haughey and Mr. Lowry — 11 January 2006; and the Morris tribunal investigating activities by gardaí in Donegal — 30 September 2006.
The relevant date in respect of the Mahon tribunal will be set once changes to the terms of reference of that tribunal have been made. Such changes will be made in the context of the consideration by the Houses of the Oireachtas of that tribunal's fourth interim report. With regard to the Dunne post mortem inquiry, the Government has decided to direct that inquiry to complete its work and issue its final report by 31 March 2005, by which date the inquiry will cease to exist.
The Government decided to set different dates for different tribunals and inquiries having regard to the individual circumstances of each tribunal or inquiry and after communication with each of their chairpersons. The Government determined not to set dates which were unrealistically early, as to do so might have involved extensive disruption of the tribunals and inquiries by reason of changes in legal personnel involved. The delays and costs which such changes would have entailed could have added to, rather than reduced, the costs of the tribunals and inquiries.
The effect of the new schedule of legal fees will be to greatly reduce the cost of tribunals and inquiries should they continue their work beyond the set dates. It is not possible to calculate the savings, if any, had the new fees been applied to all existing tribunals and inquiries from 1 September last. As indicated above, this was not a realistic proposition and could have added to rather than reduced the cost of the affected tribunals and inquiries. I fully support the initiatives announced by my predecessor in July last. They will lead to significant savings in the case of new tribunals and in the case of existing tribunals which run beyond the dates specified above.
