€18,000 for barrister in Higgins's bin charge case

The barrister who prosecuted the bin tax case that sent Socialist TD Mr Joe Higgins and his councillor colleague to jail earned €18,000 for less than seven hours' work, the Dáil was told.

Mr Higgins, TD for Dublin West, who sharply criticised the Tánaiste for targeting public service workers on the standard industrial wage, said the PDs "never" attacked the "biggest cartels in Irish society", including property developers and lawyers. Ms Harney's talk of competitiveness was "hypocrisy" when people were being "squeezed" by cartels, which "she never attacks".

The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, rejected his comments, however, saying there were more people working in Ireland than ever before, and that using Deputy Higgins's economic model, "we would probably have the 20 per cent unemployment rate of many Eastern European countries".

She did say, however, that she did not stand over legal fees and agreed with much of what Deputy Higgins had to say about them.

That was why the Personal Injuries Assessment Board was established, which would take barristers out of most personal injury cases.

The Socialist Party TD, who spent four weeks in Mountjoy last summer, said Fingal County Council paid a senior counsel €7,500 "for three hours on his feet in the High Court on September 17th, 2003, to get an interlocutory injunction against decent taxpayers - a fairly run-of-the-mill procedure".

He added: "Two days later the same gentleman was on his feet for less than three hours, sending myself and my colleague, Claire Daly, to jail. He was paid €7,500 again. A few days later, he was on his feet for less than an hour to enjoin Alan Lee as a defendant to proceedings, for €3,000. That is €18,000 for a senior counsel for less than seven hours' work." With VAT added, it came to €22,000.

He asked why, after seven years in government, did Ms Harney "stand over this type of profiteering by that profession. How can working people buy justice in this State?"

In a sharp condemnation of Ms Harney's comments at the PDs' conference in Killarney, Mr Higgins accused her of taking the "whip to some of her favourite targets, especially public services and public service workers".

The Public Accounts Committee had highlighted the "exorbitant fees paid to barristers", including €42 million for the current tribunals.

"However, the Tánaiste sought to attack working people in the public service at her conference."