Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The answer to that question is a simple "Yes". All fees have been negotiated and arranged by the Government. The point I was making related to when the former Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, and the then Attorney General set about negotiating new fee structures with the tribunals. We had about eight tribunals in one form or another pursuing different investigations at that stage. In the case of some tribunals that were near an end, they allowed the fees to remain while they wrapped up. There was a view in those that remained on the highest structure that their end was imminent, which is why they allowed the fees to remain as they were.

The new fee structure has been implemented for a number of tribunals, some of which have come to an end, while the Breen and Buchanan tribunal has only begun. The new fee structure is in place for those tribunals.

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