Century Radio promoter James Stafford has asked the State to pay legal costs of more than €300,000 incurred through his appearance at the Mahon tribunal, writes Mary Carolan.
In an interim report two years ago, then tribunal chairman Mr Justice Flood concluded Mr Stafford had obstructed and hindered the tribunal in a number of respects, including his failure to give a truthful account of a "bribe" of £35,000 paid by another Century promoter, Mr Oliver Barry, to former communications minister Ray Burke.
Tribunal chairman Judge Alan Mahon will give his decision on Mr Stafford's costs application next month.
Mr Stafford's €310,515 bill includes €169,400 in solicitors' fees and the balance in counsel's fees.
The brief fee for senior counsel was €12,7000 with "refresher" daily fees of €3,000, exclusive of VAT. The fees for junior counsel are calculated at two thirds of those amounts.
Mr Stafford, who was a friend of former Taoiseach Charles Haughey and the latter's son-in-law, Mr John Mulhern, was approached by Mr Mulhern in the late 1980s about becoming involved in Century Radio.
In an interim report of September 2002, Mr Justice Flood concluded that Mr Stafford and Mr Mulhern had agreed that a payment of £35,000 would be financed to Mr Ray Burke by Century.
He said this payment was received by Mr Burke as a "bribe".
Mr Justice Flood found the payment was made in response to Mr Burke's request for money at a time when Century promoters believed it would assist their private interests.
Mr Des O'Neill, SC for the tribunal, said yesterday Mr Stafford had tried to distance himself from the payment to Mr Burke because he knew it was corrupt.
Mr Stafford had given untrue information to the private session of the tribunal and Mr Justice Flood had concluded he had obstructed the tribunal by failing to give it a truthful account of his knowledge of the payment and of the role played by Mr Stafford and Mr Barry in ensuring Mr Burke would introduce legislation capping RTÉ's advertising capacity.
In submissions for Mr Stafford, Mr Rory Egan, solicitor, asked Judge Mahon to have regard for Mr Stafford's evidence that he did not know of the payment to Mr Burke until March 1991.
Tribunals are public inquiries which require the co-operation of witnesses, Mr Egan said. Once witnesses co-operated, they should get their costs.
Mr Egan said the same principles should apply where there were conflicts of evidence. Mr Stafford had not sought to hinder the tribunal and it would be unfair to refuse costs to him because his recollection of events conflicted with others.