News

McCreevy announces reduced tribunal fees

Monday, 19 July 2004 22:14

The Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, has announced new reduced payment structures for legal fees at tribunals and inquiries.

The minister said the new rates would be less than 40% of the maximum current rates paid to lawyers at the tribunals.

The new rates will apply to all new tribunals and inquiries from the start. Mr McCreevy said they would be introduced to current tribunals following communication with the chairpersons of each inquiry.

At present, tribunal barristers are paid a daily rate ranging from €2,000-€2,500 per day. On top of that they receive one-off brief fees that can be as much as €60,000.

At the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis, Charlie McCreevy complained that some barristers were now earning in a week what an old age pensioner might expect in a year, and vowed to tackle the issue.

The new Government plans propose a daily rates cut to €969 for senior counsel, with a negotiable fee for preparatory work. The proposed rate is based on the salary of a high court judge.

The structure will apply to all new inquiries from 1 September. The Attorney General is to write to the chairmen of the six existing tribunals to agree a date from which the reduced fees will apply to their bodies.

Mr McCreevy said that he was strongly of the view that the equivalent of an annual salary was the most appropriate way to pay lawyers on tribunal work, adding that the proposed rate would still be more than seven times the annual industrial wage.