Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

As I stated, the sole member indicated it is his intention to complete his work by the end of the year. The timetable is now to be subject to a slight overrun but it is more or less on schedule. As soon as submissions have been processed and considered, the expenditure on counsel is likely to begin to reduce significantly. This is the position of the sole member and we must abide by it in the interest of ensuring there is no unnecessary interference or undermining of his final work at this stage of the proceedings. It is a question of acknowledging his position. I am not suggesting it is likely there will be further public hearings but that, in the interest of being exact, it could happen if an issue arose from the interaction between the legal teams.

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