Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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258. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans and discussions held in relation to recovering some of the extra costs that will now be incurred by the State as a result of the Mahon tribunal in relation to costs that will have to be paid to third parties; if he has examined the possibility of recovering some of these amounts from the professionals who were employed by the Mahon tribunal who should have had professional indemnity insurance in view of the fact that some important material relevant to the tribunal was wrongly withheld; the action he is taking to protect the taxpayer arising from this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5228/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Similar to the practice with other previous Tribunals of Inquiry, my Department is involved in recouping the final third-party costs of witnesses to the Mahon Tribunal. This process involves the assessment of claims by legal cost accountants acting on behalf of the State prior to the submission of final claims to my Department. Assessments, and reductions, of costs claimed by witnesses to the Tribunal are determined in the first instance by the Chairman of the Tribunal and subsequently by legal cost accountants and my Department has no role in these matters.

I have been advised by the Mahon Tribunal that the costs that now will be paid to a small number of third parties arising from issues that have arisen with certain adverse findings made by Mr Justice Flood in his Second and Third Interim Reports in 2002 and 2003, respectively, are costs which had these adverse findings not been made would have been properly payable to the said third parties at that time.

The implications of the outcome of the relevant legal challenges against the Tribunal are being considered by my Department. Legal advice is being sought with a view to informing that consideration.