Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I do not have that specific information to hand but I will obtain it for the Deputy. The Deputy will be aware that overall allocations are divided between various subheads and should they be exceeded the funding must be made up elsewhere within the Department's overall allocation.

On the Deputy's point in regard to the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, the report was discussed during the course of this year by the Committee of Public Accounts. Chapter VI concludes that "the potential liability of the State appears, therefore, to be somewhere in the region of €100 million". This includes costs incurred by other State bodies in responding to tribunal inquiries, as well as third party costs.

The report points out that the tribunal drew attention to the downstream gains to the Exchequer arising from its establishment and the conduct of its proceedings. The tribunal noted from evidence to it in 2006 from the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners that as well as specific sums of some €8.5 million recovered from individuals directly connected with the tribunal's proceedings, the tribunal's work has contributed to the cultivation of a new climate or culture of disclosure in financial and fiscal areas. I believe that covers the point raised by the Deputy.

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