£933,400 for Rabbitte and Mac Giolla legal costs

A TOTAL of £933,400 was approved yesterday by the High Court to cover the legal costs incurred by Mr Pat Rabbitte TD and Mr Tomas Mac Giolla at the Tribunal of Inquiry into the Beef Processing Industry. Announcing the decision, the Taxing Master of the High Court, Mr James Flynn, approved £550,500 for payment to the solicitors firm, Michael D. White and Company. Mr White was recently appointed judge of the Circuit Court.

A further £382,900 was approved for payment to counsel for Mr Rabbitte and Mr Mac Giolla. Mr Adrian Hardiman SC will receive £228,900; Mr Seamus "Woulfe, barrister, receives £149,800; and Mr Tom O'Connell barrister, £4,200.

A separate instruction fee of 40,000 for Mr White, relating to that part of the inquiry dealing with parliamentary privilege and constitutional matters, was reduced to £10,000. This followed an objection by Mr Peter Fitzpatrick, legal cost accountant acting for the State. It is included in the £550,500 figure quoted "above.

Mr White was paid at the rate of £1,500 a day for the 82 days he attended the tribunal accompanied by counsel. He was paid £2,500 a day for the 47 days he attended the tribunal unaccompanied by counsel.

In making his ruling on the rates to be paid Mr White, Mr Flynn said: "The amount of time spent on a case is not the yard stick to use in measuring the appropriate cost of the service. Such a yardstick would include skill, knowledge, and effort", "the importance of the matter to a client", and "the complexity and magnitude of the case".

"An hourly rate alone would not reflect a fair and reasonable rate of return for the work carried out by the solicitor," Mr Flynn added.

"The time factor amount will sufficiently reimburse the solicitor for the physical expenditure of time but it is no measure for the mental demands or strain the case places on the solicitor."

Later in the ruling and referring to those days at the inquiry when Mr White was unaccompanied by counsel, Mr Flynn said: "It is quite clear that Mr White had indeed a more onerous task to perform, against the cream of the Bar.

Mr Hardiman received a brief fee of £52,000. He received second brief fees of £10,500, and refresher fees of £165,900, at the rate of £2,100 a day for 79 days.

Mr Woulfe received a brief fee of £35,000, second brief fees of £7,000, and £107,800 in refresher fees, at the rate of £1,400 a day for 77 days.