THE beef tribunal may cost the taxpayer £10 million less than the £32 million estimated by the Department of Finance in 1994, writes Den is Coghlan.
While legal fees for solicitors' and barristers' work at the tribunal may face a High Court challenge, the "worst-case scenario" of a final £35 million bill - predicted by some senior politicians at the time - will not now be realised.
At this stage, the State has paid, or is about to pay, £14.2 million in costs, with a further £2.7 million in dispute. Official sources suggest that outstanding bills will amount to less than £5 million.