The chairman of the tribunal

The chairman of the tribunal, Mr Justice Flood, yesterday took issue with recent press reports suggesting tribunal lawyers would be paid for a full day when the tribunal only sat for 15 minutes. "I want to make it quite clear that counsel for the tribunal, whether or not they come down here to the tribunal, to the hearing room as they are required and otherwise, continue to work until 5.30p.m. or thereabouts," he said.

Judge Flood added that the tribunal staff were not unused to working up to 8 or 9 p.m. and he knew them to be at work shortly after 8 a.m., admittedly partly due to traffic problems. "I want to make that quite clear, that my staff are hard-working and are very, very industrious and very astute."