The Oireachtas has agreed to pay the legal costs of Fine Gael Senator Jim Higgins arising from his challenge against a Morris tribunal order that he reveal his sources of information about allegations of Garda corruption in Co Donegal.
This follows the decision by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission last November to pay the costs of €326,000 of Labour Party front bench member Brendan Howlin for his legal challenge against the Morris tribunal.
The details of Mr Higgins's costs are not known. A meeting of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission in March agreed to sanction the payment in principle, pending receipt of details of the costs.
Mr Howlin, who is a member of the commission, absented himself from consideration of the issue at the meeting, given his interest in the decision of the commission on November 16th last to sanction his legal costs.
The legal payments follow a Supreme Court order in January 2006 directing the Dáil Committee on Procedure and Privileges to pay the costs relating to the case.
The proceedings arose after the Morris tribunal made discovery orders in 2003 against Mr Howlin and Mr Higgins, then a TD, that they provide phone and fax records to allow the inquiry to identify their sources of information about allegations of Garda corruption in Co Donegal.
They were told to disclose documents relating to allegations made to them and which both politicians had put before the Minister for Justice in 2000.
The allegations implied that two senior gardaí may have acted with impropriety, with the effect that the inquiry by Assistant Garda Commissioner Kevin Carty into matters in Co Donegal might be compromised.
Both politicians declined to reveal their sources and took High Court proceedings challenging the discovery orders. The proceedings against Mr Higgins were resolved after his source - Co Donegal publican Frank McBrearty snr - agreed to the disclosure of his identity.
Mr Howlin won his case but lost on appeal to the Supreme Court.
In its judgment in December 2005, the court found members of the Oireachtas have no absolute constitutional privilege to withhold documents in their possession from parties outside the Oireachtas.
Mr Howlin's source was identified as senior counsel Martin Giblin after the Supreme Court directed he disclose to the Morris tribunal documents that would reveal his informant's identity.
In January 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that costs should be awarded to the tribunal against the Dáil committee.
The highlighting by the TDs in the Dáil in 2000 of irregularities in Garda activity in Co Donegal in part prompted the establishment of the Morris tribunal.