Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman. I have been appalled by the accounts of the Ian Bailey case, which went on for 64 days. On day 62 of the hearing, it was brought to the attention of the court that for the most part the material came under the Statute of Limitations and was not relevant to the case. This was a waste of jury time and the bill for the State's legal representatives will be approximately €5 million. It would seem the normal practice is that matters in relation to the Statute of Limitations are dealt with before the trial starts or at the very beginning of the trial. The Courts Service and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor have to answer why so much time and taxpayers' money was spent on this case. I believe there are a number of similar questions on other cases as well.