Ms Geraldine Tallon:

It is not entirely fair to apportion blame for a ten-year delay to the person who did the work ten years ago, because the Mahon tribunal took the decision to park the question of cost eligibility until the final report was produced. The rulings were given for the period 1998 to 2002, but at that stage the tribunal decided to park the remaining costs, from 2003-2008, until the final report was completed. Therefore, in fairness to people who worked or who feel entitled to claim costs, their eligibility has only been adjudicated on within the past year.