Mahon tribunal bill is €69.5m 10 years on and still mounting

Running costs for the Mahon tribunal reached €69.5 million at the end of October, or just under €89,000 for every day of public hearing, according to figures released yesterday.

Two barristers on the tribunal have earned more than €3.5 million each.

The costs, released by the Department of the Environment, include fees paid to tribunal staff and some legal costs claimed by third parties at the tribunal.

Established by ministerial order on November 4th 1997 by then minister for the environment Noel Dempsey, the tribunal will be 10 years old tomorrow. It has had 783 days of public hearing.

Up to May 14th, the most recent date for a breakdown of the figures, legal costs for third parties represented at the tribunal amounted to over €7 million.

Tribunal senior counsel earned just under €16.3 million up to mid-May; Desmond O'Neill's fees were €3.9 million, Patricia Dillon earned €3.54 million, Patrick Quinn earned €2.61 million and Henry R. Murphy's fees were €1.36 million.

Three other senior counsel who have resigned from the tribunal - John Gallagher, Patrick Hanratty and Felix McEnroy - earned €2.86 million, €1.46 million and €0.53 million, respectively.

The seven junior counsel employed by the tribunal earned €9.1 million up to May 14th; top earners included Eunice O'Raw at €2.7 million, Mairead Coghlan, now resigned, at €1.79 million, and Annette Foley and Adele Murphy, who both earned just over €1.1 million.

Four solicitors earned €3.17 million between them; Susan Gilvarry, employed by the tribunal since 2000, earned €1.1 million, while Maire Áine Howard, now resigned, earned €0.97 million.

Nine legal researchers earned €2.1 million between them.

Established after prolonged concern over corruption in the planning process, the tribunal was initially chaired by sole member Mr Justice Feargus Flood.

Formally titled The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments, it was charged with examining corruption in planning decisions in various areas of Dublin. It has published findings to date in four interim reports.

When Mr Justice Flood retired in 2003 he was replaced by Judge Alan Mahon, Judge Mary Faherty and Judge Gerald Keys.

Chief witnesses at the tribunal have included Luton-based developer Tom Gilmartin, former Fianna Fáil press secretary Frank Dunlop and former Fianna Fáil minister Ray Burke. A string of former Dublin councillors have taken the stand, along with former ministers, bank officials and various civil servants.

Two former taoisigh gave evidence: John Bruton and Albert Reynolds.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern gave evidence at the tribunal last month on foot of allegations that he received up to £100,000 from developer Owen O'Callaghan. The tribunal questioned him about a number of financial transactions in his accounts.

Judge Mahon said last week that he expected public hearings at the tribunal to be completed by late summer 2008, after which the final report will be prepared.

In February, in response to suggestions by former minister for justice Michael McDowell that the tribunal would ultimately cost €1 billion, Judge Mahon said that the anticipated costs would be €300 million. He pointed out that the tribunal had the power not to allow costs to witnesses who had obstructed its work, and it could bill them with some of its own costs, which would reduce the burden on the taxpayer.

The full value of third party costs is unlikely to be known for some time but is estimated to be two to three times the cost of the tribunal's own legal team.