6rd September  2004

PRESS RELEASE

Green Party welcomes Decision on Burke Costs, and calls for further review of Tribunal fees

The Green Party has welcomed the decision by Judge Mahon not to award costs to former Minister Ray Burke.

The Party’s Planning Spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD stated:

“Fifteen years ago Ray Burke received tens of thousands of pounds in donations from builders at a time when Charlie Haughey was telling us that we were living beyond our means.  

“According to Judge Mahon, Mr. Bourke ‘obstructed and hindered’ the Tribunal. It is only right that he Burke suffer the consequences. 

“We now have to look beyond the good decisions that the Tribunals are making, and introduce more sensible fees for their legal teams. The Tribunals have become a ‘Gravy Train’ for many. The Government should introduce more meaningful legal fees with immediate effect, rather than waiting up to two years before allowing sanity to prevail in the determination of fees.  

“It is morally reprehensible that the Irish tax-payers should be paying the bulk of such fees while the elderly wait on hospital trolleys for treatment.”

ENDS