The Refugee Appeals Tribunal has paid out €7.7 million in fees since it was set up in 2001, according to a parliamentary question released to Jim O'Keeffe, Fine Gael spokesman on Justice.
One of the part-time members of the tribunal earned over 10 per cent of the fees paid.
In addition, judicial reviews of tribunal decisions, which amounted to 159 in 2005, cost the taxpayer a further €2.7 million last year alone, according to Mr O'Keeffe. Barrister Jim Nicholson was paid over €780,000 since the tribunal was set up, and was the highest earner of all the members by more than €200,000.
The next highest earner was Ben Garvey, who earned €561,184 over the five years, followed by Bernadette Cronin, who earned €551,256.
Eamonn Cahill earned €496,012 since the tribunal was established, followed by Donal Egan, who earned €390,292.
The average amount of fees earned by each member was €233,333, but this includes a number of recently-appointed members who have earnings of under €100,000 over three years, and in some cases as little as €10,000. The parliamentary reply pointed out that the tribunal had made some 23,107 decisions up to the end of 2005, and had reduced the backlog of cases significantly.
Mr O'Keeffe said that the fees paid, and especially their distribution among the members of what is a part-time tribunal, confirmed the urgent need to reform it.
"Serious questions have to be asked about the Refugee Appeals Tribunal," he said. "Certain members have refused almost every single application for asylum, while others are said to have been very lenient."