Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The fees for senior counsel were fixed in 1997. The tribunal counsel sought a substantial increase in their fees and this went on until 2001 and 2002. On a number of occasions when I was in opposition, I raised the fact that payments of an increased nature were incorrectly sent out and were not reclaimed. I made the point that someone claiming social welfare who had been overpaid by €100 or €1,000 would be pursued by the Department of Social Protection for the recovery of that money over a number of years. This is an issue I felt very strongly about when I was on that side of the House and I would like to pursue it here. Whether it is possible to do anything about that, when these sums have been signed off on completely, is a matter I must pursue. The cost of legal fees at that level is exorbitant. That is why I genuinely believe that this House and the committees of this House, properly set up and with competent people, would be entitled to and could do a good job in the event that situations such as that might arise in the future at a fraction of the cost of tribunals running over a very long period.

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