It should be remembered however that a far larger sum than €100 million has been recovered by the State in terms of unpaid tax revenue.
A decision by the planning tribunal to award legal costs to most witnesses has left the State with a bill running into ten of millions of euro.
The chairman of the tribunal, Judge Alan Mahon, said yesterday he would award costs “save in exceptional circumstances” to witnesses who had co-operated with the inquiry and against whom no adverse finding had been made.
His decision paves the way for most of the 170-plus witnesses who appeared before the tribunal between 1998 and 2002 to have their costs paid by the State.
Informed estimates say the bill for their legal costs could approach €100 million, on top of the running costs of over €30 million for the tribunal itself. This amount far exceeds the €34.5 million paid to the Revenue Commissioners in connection with tribunal-related inquiries up to 2002.