Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Gilmore said I commented on or criticised the fees, but I do not believe I mentioned them since I last answered questions on the matter here. I made no reference to them whatsoever and the Deputy is incorrect in that regard.

The new rates have been applied in respect of a number of tribunals. The former Minister for Finance, Mr. Charlie McCreevy, had agreed with the tribunals and the then Attorney General on dates for the application of the new rates. A number of them took effect and there have been a number of new examinations since then. Of the two tribunals that have been running for ten years, in the Moriarty tribunal, now the Mahon tribunal, people were employed on the basis of a particular fee rate. It was extended on the basis of that understanding. The dates for completion of both tribunals have been changed — the Moriarty tribunal was due to finish last Christmas or last January. Others have also been extended and for that reason they were allowed to stick with the current rates. The Moriarty tribunal, which is the only tribunal with which I am dealing, is due to finish in a matter of months and therefore it should be allowed to continue with the current rates until its work has been completed.

The set fee to be paid under the new rates will be based on the current annual salary of a High Court judge plus 20% in respect of pension contribution with related payments being made to other legal staff, including barristers and solicitors. The specific annual remuneration packages at the rates applicable in 2005 were, for senior counsel, €1,008 per day and, for junior counsel, €672 per day, which is two thirds of the senior counsel rate. There was also a rate for solicitors and others. That is the 2005 rate, not the current rate, which is approximately 40% of the maximum current rates paid to the tribunal counsel. These rates have been brought in for other tribunals for some of the new examinations that have been taking place under the new tribunal legislation, but the old rates were left for the teams that were in place on the basis they had been on those rates for several years. That position is always under review, but in the Moriarty tribunal, the one I am dealing with, the consideration is that the existing rates will be allowed to be applicable until the end of its work on the basis this is only some months off.

See this speech in context