A barrister said to be "running the Flood tribunal" has been criticised in the District Court for referring to the importance of his role in the tribunal as a reason for an application to adjourn a case against him.
Edgeworthstown District Court in Co Longford was told that the senior counsel, Mr Desmond O'Neill, was so busy with the tribunal that he was unable to be present to answer the charges.
Mr O'Neill, Glenbrook House, Delgany, Co Wicklow, had been summonsed to appear on a charge of careless driving at Camlisk, Edgeworthstown, on October 15th, 1998.
Judge John Neilan, observing that Mr O'Neill's application put the court in an invidious position, said: "He's a citizen of the State and he must respond like any other citizen. He cannot tell me when his case is to be fixed because of some tribunal.
"He should not have put the court in an invidious position. I just can't say that Mr O'Neill is above us all. There's more to life than the Flood tribunal, and he has to get on with it."
Mr O'Neill's solicitor, Mr John Quinn, said Mr O'Neill had had to abandon the entirety of his legal practice for the Flood tribunal, which he said was "literally running".
Adjourning the matter until September Judge Neilan said: "What I am saying to Mr O'Neill in a nutshell is that it is inappropriate that he should tell this court that he cannot respond to charges because he is a member of the legal profession and is tied up with a very important tribunal."