[Article] Gold Rush to carry on until 2007

Mexicola

Indo wrote:

THE €2,500-a-day 'gravy train' for tribunal lawyers will keep rolling for another year, despite a promise to slash legal fees.

The Government last night extended the Morris and Moriarty Tribunals - at the full rate of pay.

The legal gold rush means senior counsel will continue to pick up €2,500 per day, instead of the planned lower fees of €900 a day.

The extension also makes it highly unlikely that the final report into payments to Charles Haughey and Michael Lowry will be finished before the next general election.

The Taoiseach promised that barristers and solicitors would take a pay cut if the tribunals work went on any longer than this month.

But in a dramatic U-turn, the Government confirmed the tribunals would continue "at the existing levels of remuneration".

In a brief statement, the Government announced the new completion date for the Moriarty Tribunal into payments to politicians is now the end of January 2007.

And the new completion date for the Morris Tribunal into the activities of Donegal gardai is the end of October 2007.

The Moriarty Tribunal has already cost the taxpayer more than €21m, with €16m going to the inquiry's legal team.

When Mr Ahern gave the Moriarty Tribunal its last extension deadline to the middle of this year, he said: "There should be no obstacle to reducing fees payable to lawyers appearing before the Moriarty tribunal after that date, in the event that it has not completed its work by then. The reduced fee scale was supposed to kick in at the Morris Tribunal this September, but has now been postponed for another year."

The extension appears to make a mockery of the new reduced fees system first introduced by Charlie McCreevy in 2004.

The Moriarty Tribunal started its work in 1997 and its chairman, Mr Justice Michael Moriarty, has yet to produce any report.

The Morris Tribunal was set up in 2002 but its chairman, Justice Frederick Morris, has already finished five reports.

Incredible. Another 'dramatic U-turn' decision. These lawyers must be absolutely minting it.

Villain

I heard this on Morning Ireland this morning and couldn't believe it, Minister Brennan basically excused it by saying if they didn't allow an extension it would cost more and go on longer, i.e. the tribunal lawyers have a hold over the Government so if the Government cuts there daily pay they will just ensure they make up for it by dragging out the work.

This is a disgraceful abuse of tax payers money.