Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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477. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the total expenditure on the legal team acting for the planning tribunal; and in view of the findings of this tribunal now having been withdrawn with huge additional implications for the costs to the tax payer, if he will seek to recoup all or at least some of this additional money from the legal team. [6834/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Court challenges relating to the withholding or redacting of certain information in witness statements, as well as against certain findings in interim reports of the Planning Tribunal relating to hindrance and obstruction by certain individuals, were initiated by certain parties at various times during the work of the Tribunal. Subsequent Supreme Court judgments found against the practice of redacting witness statements, and also against the non-cooperation and hindrance findings against specific individuals in some instances.

This has now resulted in certain corruption findings against certain parties being withdrawn from the 2^ndand 3^rdinterim Tribunal reports of 2002 and 2003 respectively. These judgements have also resulted in specific parties now being entitled to legal costs which had previously been refused, with the vast majority of the concerned parties now being awarded their full costs. Contrary to recent media reports, it is not the case that the 2^ndand 3^rdInterim Reports have been withdrawn in their entirety - certain adverse findings remain in place. It should also be noted that no findings in the Tribunal's Final Report and Recommendations are affected by these Supreme Court decisions.

The total cost of the Tribunal's internal legal team to end 2014 was €51,639,766.

The Tribunal estimated in 2014 that the total costs of its deliberations would amount to approximately €159m once all costs have been agreed and paid. This estimate was prepared in accordance with standard accounting practice and the agreed protocol on legal fees, on the assumption that all parties involved with the Tribunal, and who were entitled to apply for their costs, would receive all of their costs. The recent findings of the Supreme Court in relation to Mr. George Redmond will not therefore have any effect on this estimate.

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.