The row over legal fees, which was delaying the inquiry into alleged planning abuses, has been resolved in a deal giving lawyers to the tribunal up to £1,450 a day. A compromise reached last night between the Minister for Finance, the Attorney General and the sole chairman of the tribunal, Mr Justice Feargus Flood, follows a decision by Cabinet earlier yesterday that Mr McCreevy and Mr David Byrne should resolve the issue as soon as possible.
The agreement came within hours of the judge and his registrar, Mr Peter Kavanagh, beginning work in rooms assigned to the tribunal at Dublin Castle. It also comes in the wake of comments by the Taoiseach that while the Government wanted to "get the best people, we do not want to pay exorbitant fees that the State should not have to pay".
However, under the arrangement, lawyers will receive £1,450 for sitting days - the same as that paid to counsel in the McCracken Tribunal. Counsel in the Flood inquiry will be paid £1,350 for non-sitting days, £150 a day more than the Finance Minister was originally willing to give.
The tribunal team has been named as Mr John Gallagher SC, a specialist in planning law, Mr Pat Hanratty SC and junior counsel Mr Felix McEnroy. As well as the daily fees, Mr Gallagher and Mr Hanratty will each receive a £25,000 "brief fee" or retainer. The junior counsel on the tribunal team is not paid a retainer.
Government sources indicated that the judge and the Attorney General had been in "direct communications" with the Department and the lawyers throughout yesterday afternoon in an effort to reach agreement. A Government spokesman said back-up facilities and personnel had been provided to Mr Justice Flood "to enable him to carry out his important and difficult task". It has been two months since the Dail agreed to conduct a tribunal into allegations of planning irregularities.
The final deal on fees represents a small compromise by both sides. In effect, with the exception of the rate for non-sitting days, the legal fees that applied in the McCracken Tribunal will prevail in the planning inquiry.
For the first 30 days, lawyers will be paid £1,450; for the next 20 days, £1,400; thereafter, £1,350. Part-days will be paid at the rate of £150 an hour.
Counsel had originally sought a flat rate of £2,100 a day - sitting or non-sitting - but the figure was later amended to £1,500 a day. Mr McCreevy rejected this proposal, offering the McCracken rate of £1,450 for sitting days and £1,200 for non-sitting days.
Conflicting views from Mr McCreevy and Mr Justice Flood about the root cause of the delay in beginning the tribunal were raised in the Dail yesterday. With Opposition politicians hinting that the Government was engaging in a deliberate strategy to delay the tribunal until after the Dublin North and Limerick East by-elections, Government sources said the Taoiseach "wanted the most competent people" and that a number of difficulties, including "the complexities involved", had caused the delay in establishing the tribunal.