Staff costs for the Mahon tribunal, including for its internal legal team, amounted to more than €1.1 million last year, five years after it last held public hearings.
Some six staff remain working with the tribunal, set up in 1997 to examine planning corruption in Dublin, new figures from the Department of the Environment show.
A registrar, a solicitor, a barrister, a service officer, an office support worker and a legal secretary continue with the completion of the tribunal’s work. This includes processing a small number of outstanding costs applications, litigation still awaiting conclusion and the management of a significant amount of documents. The work is expected to continue into next year.
Administrative staff
The total cost of the tribunal’s administrative staff was more than €567,000 last year. Its internal legal team cost almost €562,000. This included payments of more than €170,000 plus VAT to barrister Annette Foley and almost €168,000 plus VAT to solicitor Susan Gilvarry. Junior barristers earn a daily rate of €1,173 and solicitors earn €810 a day.
In addition, more than €111,000 was paid for external legal counsel and more than €13,000 for other court costs.
The overall cost of the tribunal is estimated at €159 million, a lower figure than had been anticipated. In 2007, Judge Alan Mahon said he expected it to cost €300 million, while former minister for justice Michael McDowell suggested it would ultimately cost €1 billion.
