Judge Alan Mahon will this morning deliver a crucial ruling on multi-million euro legal costs for those who hindered or obstructed the tribunal. Paul Cullen reports.
The chairman has to decide whether to award costs to 16 parties, including former minister Mr Ray Burke, against whom adverse findings were made in the tribunal's second and third interim reports.
Any decision to withhold costs from obstructive witnesses could save the tribunal up to €50 million, but is certain to be challenged in the courts. Mr Burke's legal bill alone comes to €10.5 million .
The Attorney General and the Minister for Finance have urged the chairman to withhold costs. Their lawyers argued at a hearing earlier this month that it was "ridiculous" for people who were found to have obstructed or hindered the tribunal to claim they had a "legitimate expectation" for costs.
At this hearing, lawyers for the businessman Mr Joseph Murphy junior, and developers Mr Michael Bailey and Mr Tom Bailey sought unsuccessfully to have any decision postponed until their clients' respective court proceedings against the tribunal had been heard.
Meanwhile, it emerged yesterday that the tribunal's hearings into allegations of planning corruption by Mr Tom Gilmartin are set to continue into the autumn because the developer is indisposed. The tribunal had hoped to wrap up its hearings into Mr Gilmartin's allegations by the end of this month, when the legal holidays begin.
However, Ms Patricia Dillon SC, for the tribunal, conceded yesterday that the current module would not be completed this month because Mr Gilmartin will not be able to give evidence until the autumn.
The announcement means the tribunal has already fallen behind the schedule set out in its fourth interim report, published earlier this month, which estimated that the inquiry had at least 11 more years of work to do.
Yesterday's evidence focused on two maps which have come to light and which detail the land ownership at Quarryvale in west Dublin, where Mr Gilmartin planned to build a huge shopping centre.
In earlier evidence, Mr Gilmartin alleged that Mr Liam Lawlor took him to the office of George Redmond in May 1988, where the assistant Dublin city and county manager provided the developer with a colour-coded map of land ownership at Quarryvale.
Mr Gilmartin also claimed that Mr Lawlor sought £100,000 in return for his help, and another £100,000 for Redmond. Redmond denies that he provided Mr Gilmartin with any map.
The two maps now in the possession of the tribunal came from the files of Lisneys estate agents and AIB respectively.
Witnesses from the two companies told the tribunal yesterday they had not prepared the maps, but were unable to say where they came from.
Mr Niall Hayden, who worked as a draughtsman in the roads department of Dublin County Council in the late 1980s, said he couldn't say whether the maps originated from within the council.
Neither map possessed a legend or title or signature. They were prepared from base maps freely available from the council.
Mr Hayden said the maps contained detail of housing development which would have been available to the planning department, but not to the roads department. He said Redmond requested maps from the road department on a "fairly regular" basis. He told Redmond, representing himself, that he had no recollection of Redmond seeking these maps from him.