Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Taoiseach is aware that the normal practice for tribunals is to use lawyers from the Chief State Solicitor's office and the highest salary level for those is €85,000. Can the Taoiseach confirm that for the past four years the Moriarty tribunal has ignored that arrangement and engaged a solicitor from a private practice? Will he further confirm that the fees of €1,000 per day are now in excess of €1.2 million for the past four years? Will the Taoiseach tell me the reason that was justified and sanctioned by his Department when the tradition is to use persons from the Chief State Solicitor's office?

The Moriarty tribunal report was expected to be published before now but the indications are that there may be further public hearings. Does the Taoiseach agree that if lawyers are to be brought back in the event of public sittings, that should only apply for those sittings and not on an indefinite basis? There were only three sittings in 2008 — one in March and two in May. There was one in 2009, a surprise sitting, where proceedings were immediately adjourned, according to a report in The Irish Times of 30 January, to allow a date to be arranged for an organised hearing. In a quotation from that report the Minister for Finance has apparently told the Departments to which the tribunals report to contact the tribunals and tell them that once public hearings are concluded, the legal staff associated with the public hearings should no longer be paid. The Moriarty tribunal has furnished its public hearings for some time now but it appears that it still has its full complement of staff. Is that the case? As the Taoiseach is aware, senior barristers are paid up to €2,750 per day and the Moriarty tribunal may complete its hearings by the end of the year.

In respect of the matter the Taoiseach mentioned, namely, a particular approval given on a personal basis by the Department of the Finance and the Department of the Taoiseach, what were the circumstances that applied in that case? Also, on the issue the Taoiseach mentioned, the overpayment to the senior counsel where he is being paid a daily refresher of €2,500 instead of €2,250 due to a typing error in the Department of the Taoiseach in 2002, what arrangements have been made to recover that payment? The total payments added up to more than €1 million. Were arrangements made to recover that?

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