■ Michael Moriarty might have retired from the High Court but his role on the payments-to-politicians tribunal is destined to go on and on. Set up in 1997, it reported in 2010 but there are ongoing court cases to handle.
The tribunal will have to decide soon whether to appeal against the Court of Appeal decision that it should reconsider giving Michael Lowry only one-third of his legal costs. The businessman Dermot Desmond, pictured, who appeared as a witness, has taken a Supreme Court challenge arguing that he should never have been investigated.
As the tribunal enters its third decade, the cost to the taxpayer is €55m. The bill from January to August last year was €6m, including €280,000 for its legal team.