THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS Committee of the Oireachtas is to discuss the costs of the Mahon Tribunal at a meeting tomorrow even as as uncertainty continues over when the final report will be published.
Chairman of the PAC John McGuinness said that the tribunal has cost around €96.5 million up to the end of 2011 – with third party entitlement to costs still to be decided.
“The Tribunal has estimated that the final cost of its work may be between €213 million and  €243 million, including third part costs of €111 million to €141 million,” McGuinness said today.
“No provision has been made in the accounts of the Department nor is there a note signifying a contingent liability in respect of these costs”.
He raised concerns over the costs and said the PAC will examine how many lawyers made millions as a result of the Tribunal:
The Committee will want to know the basis of these estimates, the likely timeframe in which the taxpayer will have to meet these costs and the extent to which many more lawyers will become millionaires as a result of the work of this Tribunal that was appointed 15 years ago.
Members of the PAC will meet with the Secretary General at the Department of the Environment at 10am tomorrow morning in Leinster House. The Committee will also discuss the unwinding of loans taken out by local authorities with the Housing Finance Agency in respect of development land that is not now required.
The committee can be watched live here once it begins at 10am.
Yesterday a Fine Gael TD called on the Mahon Tribunal to indicate when it will publish its findings, saying the Irish taxpayer has a right to know.
Simon Harris has written to the Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil Seán Barrett asking him to request a date from the tribunal for the publication of the report.
‘Irish taxpayer has right to know when Mahon report will be published’ – TD >
The who’s who of the Mahon Tribunal >
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