Excessive demands by lawyers should not be allowed to frustrate the will of the Dail, Mr Pat Rabbitte (DL) said yesterday when he called on the Taoiseach to act on the impasse over legal fees for the Flood Tribunal. While the intervention of the Bar Council might be appropriate, Mr Ahern should make a full statement on the delay in establishing the inquiry into alleged planning abuses, Mr Rabbitte said.
Senior Government sources last night said that the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, and the Attorney General, Mr David Byrne, were still trying to resolve the dispute.
Opposition demands for clarification yesterday followed conflicting statements from the chairman of the tribunal, Mr Justice Feargus Flood, and Mr McCreevy. The judge told the Dail last week that the appointment of a legal team was not the principal reason for the delay in the tribunal's work beginning. However, a spokeswoman for the Minister subsequently said that the row over legal fees was "the only issue" holding up the work, and that Mr McCreevy was refusing to give in to demands for what he believed were excessive legal fees.
Lawyers for the tribunal originally sought a flat rate of £2,100 per day, whether the inquiry was sitting or not. A spokeswoman for the Minister said this was amended last week and counsel were now seeking £1,500 per day. Mr McCreevy is refusing to budge from his rejected offer of £1,450 per day for sitting days and £1,200 for non-sitting days. So-called "part-days" would be paid at a rate of £150 per hour, on the basis of an eight-hour day.
Two months after the tribunal was decided on by the Dail, it has yet to begin its work. The legal teams have not been appointed, and Mr Justice Flood, its sole member, has indicated that it is not likely to sit until March.
Mr Rabbitte called on the Taoiseach to outline what steps he proposed to take to ensure the Dail decision to establish the tribunal was implemented without delay. The Government, he said, had a responsibility to ensure that the decision of the Dail was carried out.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that lawyers for the McCracken Tribunal were paid £1,450 per day for the first 30 days; £1,400 for the next 20 days; £1,350 thereafter. The rate for part-days in the McCracken Tribunal was £125 per hour.