The Laffoy Commission has advertised for junior counsel prepared to work for it for €1,270 a day.
A circular seeking barristers was put up in the Law Library more than a week ago. It is understood a number of people have expressed an interest.
The fact that the Laffoy Commission has advertised shows that, despite the big money to be made in tribunals, barristers are not queuing up for this work.
This underlines what representatives of the Bar Council have been saying - to general incredulity - for some time. They have said that working in tribunals is not that attractive any more to the limited number of barristers with the qualifications and experience to do it. Usually a tribunal, or its sponsoring Government Department, seeks out barristers to work for it quietly and discreetly.
The rates of pay are set by the levels paid in other tribunals, although recently counsel working with the Morris tribunal negotiated with the Attorney General rates higher than those paid to some of the older tribunals, including the Laffoy Commission.
The main problem for barristers with the necessary levels of experience is not the rate being paid by the tribunals, which is acknowledged to be good. It is the perceived consequences of taking up to two or three years out of regular practice in order to work exclusively for them.
"If you're missing for a few years you're a good few rungs further down the ladder than you were when you left, and it can be very hard to get the work back," said one barrister.
On top of that, there are so many tribunals that the supply of suitable people, relative to the demand, is getting used up.
Before Christmas the Government announced it was reviewing the terms of reference of the Laffoy Commission and the result is due shortly.
This may lead to a change in the terms of reference. In any case, there will be more hearings of the commission following the review and the new counsel are required to prepare documents, arrange discovery of documents and give legal advice in the hearings.