Mr. Ciarán Breen:

I will give an example. Currently, for clinical and non-clinical claims we use a combination of our own in-house skills and legal cost accountants that we engage on an individual case basis. To give an idea of the kinds of savings we have had, last year we saved approximately €6.6 million through the negotiation of legal costs in both areas. In the first instance in tribunals of inquiry, applicants must have their costs awarded to them by the tribunal chairman. It is at that stage that they draw their bills of costs through their legal cost accountants and submit them to us. We do not have any idea at this stage, other than the figures that were mentioned in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s special report in 2009, of what the costs will ultimately be. I appreciate that was some time ago. At that time the Comptroller and Auditor General indicated that the costs for the Mahon tribunal would be €137 million or more and that those of the Moriarty tribunal could be up to €80 million. Our hope is that we will handle in-house high individual bills of cost. What is currently happening is that the smaller bills of costs that have arisen are being sent out to an independent legal cost accountant by the Departments that are dealing with both the Moriarty and Mahon tribunals, and this accountant is working with the Departments to get reductions in those bills.