A delayed inquiry into Catholic solicitor Rosemary Nelson's murder has already cost nearly £12 million (€17.7 million), Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain revealed yesterday.
And the bill for the mammoth Bloody Sunday tribunal is also continuing to rise, now topping £176 million. Mr Hain disclosed the level of spending as he confirmed another £390,000 went on a critical three-day political talks session in St Andrews, Scotland.
But it was the financial resources which have already gone into the attempt to establish the truth about Mrs Nelson's killing which most outraged unionist critics. The lawyer and mother of three died in a car bombing outside her home in Lurgan, Co Armagh in March 1999.
Even though loyalist paramilitaries planted the device, allegations of security force collusion were strong enough for retired Canadian judge Peter Cory to recommend an inquiry into her assassination and three other controversial murders in Northern Ireland.
Yet full hearings in the Nelson case, at first due to begin in spring 2006 and then again in January, have been delayed due to huge workloads.- ( PA )