The Chairman of the Planning Tribunal, Judge Alan Mahon, has said the total cost of the planning tribunal should not exceed €300 million, far short of the €1 billion figure estimated yesterday by Tánaiste Michael McDowell.
In a two-page letter dated today and addressed to the Dáil clerk, Judge Alan Mahon also revealed that he told the Government two weeks ago that it would conclude its work in early 2008.
The letter comes in the wake of a claim by Mr McDowell that the Tribunal, which began probing planning corruption a decade ago, could cost more than €1 billion and could not go on forever.
Referring to the Tánaiste's €1 billion claim, Judge Mahon said: "The Tribunal believes that the ultimate costs of the Tribunal will be considerably less than that estimate."
He added: "The final figure should not exceed €300 million."
He said the total cost could in fact come in under €300 million in the event that parties found not to have cooperated with the tribunal "may not recover their own costs and may be liable to pay the costs of the Tribunal."
Referring to the duration of the inquiry, the judge continued: "The Tribunal believes that it will complete all of its remaining public hearings in early 2008 and that legal costs thereafter will be substantially reduced. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government has been so advised in correspondence on February 2, 2007."
The reduced fees structure is due to come into operation late next month.
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche is currently in talks with the Mahon Tribunal and other inquiries about reducing costs and fast-tracking their investigations.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said of the latest developments: "You cannot believe a word the Minister for Justice says any more.
"He will say and do anything to keep his political masters happy." Earlier, the Tánaiste was due to take the Order of Business in the Dáil today but was replaced by Social Affairs Minister Séamus Brennan. Mr Kenny said in the chamber:
"This is a classic case of Fianna Fáil confusion here where the Tanaiste is out like a lap dog doing the dirty work of the Taoiseach. He should be in here giving a full explanation about the future of the Mahon Tribunal."
Fine Gael said the tribunal's work should continue while Labour claimed yesterday that it was a sinister and disturbing development for the Tánaiste to be threatening to close the inquiry.
However, speaking earlier today, the Taoiseach said there was no question of the Mahon tribunal being closed down. Mr Ahern said the inquiry into planning corruption had a number of modules left and that there was a commitment about how these would be handled.
Mr Brennan said the Taoiseach and Tánaiste were both attending the inaugural plenary session of the Towards 2016 national wage agreement at Dublin Castle this morning.
He added: "The Government never has and never will interfere with any tribunal, including the Mahon Tribunal." "It has very important work to do and it must do that work to completion."
The Labour Party's Eamon Gilmore said Judge Mahon's letter called into question the credibility of both the Minister for Justice and the Minister for the Environment. He called on them to explain the basis on which they came up with a figure of €1bn.
Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins said: "The Mahon Tribunal exposed the corrupt underbelly that pertained in planning in the country and the interface between politics and business which was rotten to the core."
Additional reporting: PA