Labour and the Green Party yesterday welcomed the decision of the Mahon Tribunal not to pay the legal costs of Mr Ray Burke.
Labour Party Justice spokesman Mr Joe Costello said Mr Burke was lucky not to have been ordered to pay the additional costs he had imposed on the tribunal by his behaviour.
Mr Costello said that the €10.5 million bill that had been submitted by Mr Burke was "outrageous". It had accounted for more than half of all notified costs "and a large measure of confidence will be restored in the entire tribunal now that the public is not saddled with this bill".
He said that Judge Alan Mahon had pointed out that the conclusions of Mr Justice Flood had been reinforced: "Ray Burke set out to mislead the tribunal and failed to co-operate with it. In this context, the fact that Ray Burke has been refused State funding for his legal costs is welcome."
The Green Party's planning spokesman, Mr Ciarán Cuffe, said that 15 years ago, Mr Burke received tens of thousands of pounds in donations from builders. "At the same time the then taoiseach, Mr Haughey, was saying that we were living beyond our means. According to Judge Mahon, Ray Burke 'obstructed and hindered' the tribunal. It is therefore only right that he suffer the consequences," he said.
It was now time to introduce "more sensible fees" for the legal teams at the tribunals. "The tribunals have become a 'gravy train' for many. The Government should introduce more meaningful legal fees with immediate effect, rather than waiting up to two years before allowing sanity to prevail in the determination of fees."