THE Goodman group is claiming almost £158,000 for offices it rented during the beef tribunal hearings, the High Court Taxing Master, Mr James Flynn, has been told.
On the second day of the resumed hearing Mr Peter Fitzpatrick SC, for the Chief State Solicitor, said he wanted to make an application for details of money spent by Mr Goodman and his but not listed for costs.
He referred to the hearing last October when Mr Paul Behan, for Mr Goodman, had said his clients had expended a great deal of money in upholding their good name, and that certain sums were not claimable and were not being claimed.
When asked for details, Mr Behan had said it was not the business of Mr Fitzpatrick and the Chief State Solicitor, and that that was the end of the matter.
"I respectfully submit I'm entitled to the information, and you should know what these monies are," Mr Fitzpatrick told the Taxing Master. "For them to show their costs are fair and reasonable you should know the entire attitude taken to the tribunal by the Goodman organisation."
He said one example of this was a charge in the Bill of Costs for office accommodation in Arran Quay at a total cost of £116,719.29, as well as two rooms in Dublin Castle at a cost of £41,100. In addition, their solicitors, A. & L. Goodbody, had "one of the finest legal offices in the city.
Mr Behan said Mr Fitzpatrick was on a "fishing expedition" and had made no attempt to establish relevancy.
There were items for which there was no claim in the Bill of Costs, and which were not before the Taxing Master. The office accommodation in Arran Quay would be for consideration when it was reached in the schedule.
There was no evidence that his clients had approached the tribunal on a "no expense spared" basis.