The solicitor who represented the former Tanaiste, Mr Dick Spring, at the beef tribunal has had his claim for costs reduced by almost £500,000. Mr Donal Spring, brother of Mr Dick Spring, who also represented the former Labour TD and MEP, Mr Barry Desmond, had sought £785,000 for representing the two politicians. This was reduced by the Taxing Master of the High Court yesterday to £320,000.
The Taxing Master, Mr James Flynn, described Mr Donal Spring's work as "Lilliputian" compared with preparatory work done by other legal teams. He said he was reluctantly sanctioning the £320,000, but was doing so as the State had indicated that it was prepared to pay.
In October 1994, the then Minister for Finance, Mr Bertie Ahern, told the Dail that the legal fees awarded by the tribunal would be "closely scrutinised". If necessary, they would be "vigorously contested" before the Taxing Master. The Taxing Master adjudicates on legal fees where these have not been agreed.
The legal team acting for the former Tanaiste and Mr Desmond had submitted a total bill, excluding VAT, of about £1.52 million, and had been offered about £547,000.
Mr Donal Spring had submitted a bill for £785,000 to the Minister for Finance, but the Taxing Master awarded him £320,000 - the sum offered by the State during the hearing of costs issue before the Taxing Master last April.
Mr Justice Brian McCracken, who was senior counsel to the two politicians during the tribunal hearing, submitted a bill for £328,650 and has been allowed £115,500. The junior counsel, Mr Gerard Durcan, had billed the Minister for £315,700 and has been allowed £111,500. Mr Flynn said that a second junior counsel, Mr Finbar O'Malley, who had submitted a bill for £93,800, could not be remunerated, as the order for costs allowed for only two counsel.
Last year the Taxing Master allowed Mr Larry Goodman - whose beef-processing business was a central concern of the tribunal - £7.6 million for legal and other costs arising out of it.
The Tribunal of Inquiry into the Beef Processing Industry, presided over by Mr Justice Hamilton, followed allegations made in a Granada television documentary about the conduct of the beef industry.
Publication of the tribunal's report in 1994 led to serious tensions between the two coalition partners. The then Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, claimed that the report exonerated him from criticism over ministerial decisions he had made between 1987 and 1989. Mr Dick Spring, who was Tanaiste at the time, categorised the Fianna Fail government of the late 1980s as having committed "a major breach of public trust" in its handling of the beef industry.
In the Dail debate on the tribunal report in September 1994 he accused Mr Reynolds of operating, when Minister for Industry and Commerce, on the principle of "whatever Larry Goodman wants, Larry Goodman gets".
In yesterday's ruling the Taxing Master said: "Mr [Donal] Spring, in assessing his remuneration, failed to appreciate the apparent differences which faced other lawyers in this matter and consequently his assessment is some what overstated."
The amount of work before the tribunal relating to Mr Spring and Mr Desmond had been considerably reduced since no wrongdoings had been alleged against either man, Mr Flynn added.
