Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I thank Deputy O'Caoláin for the courtesy. What the Taoiseach has just told us is astonishing. This tribunal has gone on for 11 years and I do not know how many days of public hearings it has held. A report is now being written and the Taoiseach is telling us there could be another round of public hearings some time in the new year. It is remarkable. Has any other tribunal or inquiry proceeded in this fashion when compiling a report?

After 11 years one would expect it should be possible to present a report and not have to go back again to the people investigating to ask permission for the report's publication. It is incredible after 11 years, when we thought the final public hearings of this tribunal had concluded, we are likely to have another round.

In April 2004, the Taoiseach's predecessor as Minister for Finance, former Deputy McCreevy, told the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis that he considered the legal fees being paid to the tribunals to be astronomical, the gravy train had gone on long enough and he would reduce the fees. Various proposals were advanced as to what levels the fees would be reduced to. Shortly afterwards, the Taoiseach succeeded former Deputy McCreevy as Minister for Finance, so can he explain why all these false promises of fees of tribunal lawyers being reduced never materialised?

A scheme was introduced at one stage dictating that the fees of tribunal lawyers would be tied, in the case of senior counsel to High Court judges and in the case of other legal personnel to other benchmarks in the Judiciary. This was never implemented. In 2004 former Deputy McCreevy, as Minister for Finance, told the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis this would be brought under control so why was this never done?

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