Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The tradition in dealing with tribunals has been that where appropriate solicitors from the Chief State Solicitor's Office are used. The Taoiseach will be aware that for the past four years the Moriarty tribunal ignored this arrangement and engaged a solicitor from a private practice. Can he confirm that the average fee per day was €1,000 and that this amounted to a payment of in excess of €1.2 million for the past four years? How can this be justified given the tradition has been to use solicitors from the Chief State's Solicitor's Office?

The Taoiseach, as an elected representative, will be aware that a person who is inadvertently or otherwise overpaid by the Department of Social and Family Affairs is required to repay that money. He will also be aware - I have raised this issue before - that a letter sent from his Department to the lawyers of the Moriarty tribunal resulted in overpayment to them of €1 million. Has that over-payment, resulting from the error in the letter from the Taoiseach's Department, been refunded? If not, why not?

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