Inquiry into Quarryvale postponed until autumn

Planning Tribunal: Long-awaited hearings by the planning tribunal into the rezoning of Quarryvale in west Dublin have been postponed to the autumn.

The inquiry now says it won't start the hearings, which were originally due to begin almost two years ago, until October at the earliest.

The tribunal is unable to proceed with the Quarryvale module until the High Court delivers its verdict in a case brought against the inquiry by developer Owen O'Callaghan.

In his case, Mr O'Callaghan won the right to access confidential tribunal documents, a decision later confirmed by the Supreme Court.

However, the High Court has yet to determine which documents the tribunal will be required to make available.

The proceedings have caused the public work of the tribunal to grind almost to a halt.

So far this year, the inquiry has sat in public for 37 days, but about half of those hearings have dealt only with applications for legal costs.

With the tribunal due to end in early 2007, it is unlikely the inquiry will be able to investigate more than a small fraction of its remaining workload.

In spite of the lack of public hearings, the tribunal's legal staff continue to earn rates of up to €2,400 a day.

Earnings by three senior counsel working for the tribunal now exceed €3 million each, according to the latest figures from the Department of Environment.

John Gallagher, who left the tribunal, has received €3,459,767; Des O'Neill, €3,356,591; and Patricia Dillon, €3,113,041.

Another senior counsel, Pat Quinn, has earned €2,042,384, while two junior barristers, Eunice O'Raw and Mairéad Coghlan, have each received over €2 million.

The highest-earning solicitor is Maire Ann Howard, who has been paid €1,132,536.

The total cost of the tribunal up the end of last month is almost €42 million.

The chairman, Judge Alan Mahon, will hear seven applications for legal costs today, and 19 further applications next week.

The largest bills to be considered tomorrow come from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, which between them are seeking almost €1 million in costs.