The Minster for Finance, Mr McCreevy, has declined an invitation from the Dáil Public Accounts Committee to discuss measures to curb the high cost of tribunals, it has emerged.
The committee chairman, Fine Gael's Mr John Perry, told ireland.comhe was "quite astonished" by the Minister's refusal.
Mr Perry yesterday received a letter from McCreevy indicating he would not take up the offer of meeting the all-party committee in private session. "I am of the view that this is a policy issue [which] appears to come under the terms of reference of the Select Committee on Finance and Public Service," Mr McCreevy wrote.
Mr Perry said the issue was costs not policy. "This is not good enough, we are dealing with a matter of huge concern to the public at large and figures as high as a billion euro," he said.
Tribunals have cost the State around €300 million to date and have come under severe criticism from the PAC and the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Some estimates suggests legal costs could reach over €1 billion and the chairman of the Planning Tribunal, Judge Alan Mahon, recently warned that his inquiry could take another 11 years to complete.
The Irish Independenttoday reported Mr McCreevy would announce "tough new measures within weeks" which would include replacing the current daily-rate system for paying lawyers with a fixed-fee system.
The Department of Finance refused to comment on the report, but Mr McCreevy has indicated in the past that he will move to reform tribunals.
Mr Perry said the Minister must ensure a "new formula" for paying lawyers must apply to existing tribunals and not just than future inquiries.
There has generally been consensus both in and outside politics that changes to the tribunal system are urgently required.
The Law Society reiterated its support today for moves towards reducing costs. Director general Mr Ken Murphy said less than 1 per cent of his members had worked for tribunals, yet the legal profession as a whole had been tarnished because of high fees paid to a few lawyers.
The PAC, which is considered the most high-level Oireachtas committee, has already had hearings on the issue and is likely return to the matter in September.