Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together.

Total expenditure by my Department from the establishment of the Moriarty tribunal to the end of April 2010 was €39.36 million. Expenditure in January, February and March of this year was €414,962, €259,321 and €200,302, respectively. The sole member of the tribunal, Mr. Justice Moriarty, has not yet addressed third party costs. Until this is done, we cannot estimate the overall cost of the tribunal with any accuracy. The tribunal secretariat has on many occasions over the years told my Department that any attempt by the tribunal to quantify third party costs would lead to conclusions being drawn and suppositions being made, which could infringe on the rights of witnesses and impinge on the independence of the tribunal. As Deputies will be aware, the Comptroller and Auditor General's special report on tribunals of inquiry, in attempting to establish some estimate of the overall cost of the Moriarty tribunal, gave various ranges for third party costs but stressed that the figures were subject to many caveats and contingencies. It is not possible at this point to estimate with any accuracy the likely cost to my Department of any additional public sittings.

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