Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

In this regard, I believe they are close to his own prejudices, not only from the point of view of the public purse but from every other point of view. Controls on legal costs are due.

The Bill has been improved in the Dáil by the fact that the Government has taken on board some of propositions made. Senator Brian Hayes spoke about an amendment to section 8, which was inserted on Report Stage in the Dáil, to provide a tendering facility when recruiting persons to provide advice and assistance, and section 8 now provides that the specified Minister may — as opposed to the word "shall" — following consultation with the commission, direct that a competitive tendering process should be used. A direction may also be used to decide whether tendering may not be appropriate in every case. The section also provides that tendering may in certain cases be availed of for the recruitment not only of lawyers but of other specialists.

Section 8 also provides that in deciding whether to use a tendering process, the Minister will have regard to the subject of the investigation. In other words, there may be instances where the subject matter is so specialised and specific and where the pool of expertise is so small that a tendering process would not be practical. In other words, there may be instances in which the subject matter is so specialised and specific and the pool of expertise so small that a tendering process would not be practical. The timeframe for the submission of the final report, the qualifications and experience required for the appointment and the functions to be performed and the likely costs, etc., are covered in this section. We all accept that there is a problem. I am not sure how effective these section 8 provisions will be as they are untried and untested but they are nevertheless in place.

Two further sections also touch on the issue of costs. A separate regime is provided in sections 23 and 24 in respect of cases where a witness seeks to have his or her own fees paid by the commission and the Minister. The costs referred to in these sections are limited to those necessarily incurred in the protection of the person's good name and reputation.

Section 23 provides for general guidelines, including on maximum payment and the type of service to be considered. Section 24 provides for the application of specific criteria in each case where funds for fees are claimed. The guidelines under section 23 are to be prepared in advance and given to the witnesses in advance of their giving evidence. Therefore, they know what is available in terms of tariffs and will be in a position to know in advance of giving evidence how to plan their legal representation. The requirements in sections 23 and 24 address the substance of the Senator's amendment because he is suggesting that a tariff be published.

Section 17 sets up a procedure whereby when someone obstructs a commission or fails to co-operate with it so that other parties, the commissioner or other witnesses, for example, incur additional costs, that person can be held liable for those additional costs. In addition to noting these direct provisions on costs, the House must recall that the procedures to be employed will also help to reduce costs. I refer in particular to the emphasis on co-operation, private hearings and the limited opportunities for cross-examination — the very points Senator Brian Hayes has identified as comprising the essence of this legislation. These, along with other procedures, should have the effect of reducing the need for legal teams and, therefore, dramatically reduce costs and delays.

A fixed tariff has certain appeal but it is not necessarily just in all cases. I share many of the Senator's evident prejudices on the matter of over-feeding legal eagles, vultures or other avian species. However, the reality is that a number of amendments have been made to the Bill in the Dáil with a view to ensuring that they subsist on a more circumscribed diet than they have done in the recent past. Therefore, I am not in a position to accept the amendment.