The chairman of the planning tribunal, Judge Alan Mahon, has indicated that parties who hindered its work, such as former minister Mr Ray Burke, could be asked to pay for the inquiry's costs in investigating their affairs.
In a brief statement yesterday, the judge said the current hearings of the tribunal on the issue of costs related only to whether the legal bills of parties should be met by the Minister for Finance.
He said the tribunal had the power to require that parties who failed to co-operate meet the costs incurred by it.
Judge Mahon said that the tribunal would consider at a later stage whether such action was warranted.
He said that any party against whom such action was considered would be notified in due course and added that they would be allowed to make representations.
The tribunal chairman did not name Mr Burke or any other party who might possibly face such sanction.
On Monday, in a damning ruling rejecting Mr Burke's application for €10.5 million in costs, the judge found that Mr Burke had prolonged the work of the tribunal as a result of his lack of co-operation.
The judge found that the former Fianna Fáil minister had deliberately set out "to mislead the tribunal in the hope and expectation that the inquiry would prove inconclusive or would produce erroneous findings".
Following the ruling, the Labour Party said Mr Burke had been lucky that the tribunal had not ordered him to pay for the additional costs incurred because of his behaviour.
Labour's Justice spokesman, Mr Joe Costello, said that the €10.5 million bill submitted by Mr Burke had been "outrageous".
He added that "a large measure of confidence will be restored in the entire tribunal now that the public is not saddled with this bill".
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said it was right that parties who failed to co-operate with the tribunal did not get their costs.
The Co Mayo builders Mr Tom Brennan and Mr Joseph McGowan are also potential candidates to have the costs incurred by the tribunal awarded against them.
In a strongly worded ruling yesterday, the tribunal chairman found that the lack of co-operation by the developers with the inquiry had been extensive and "effectively unrelenting".
He said information provided by Mr Brennan and Mr McGowan had been aimed at misdirecting and misleading the tribunal in the fundamental thrust of its inquiries.
