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Sat 11 Nov 200210 tribunals + cost + time = the jury's outAre tribunals just a convenient parking place for political scandals until they fade from public memory? Will significant prosecutions result from them, or will the protagonists die before justice can be done? Is there a better way to tackle matters of serious public concern, asks Carol Coulter, Legal Affairs CorrespondentThere were 10 tribunals and inquiries running during 2002, at a cost of tens of millions of euro, and the demand for tribunals to inquire into various shortcomings in Irish life continues to grow. The latest people to call for a tribunal are the patients of obstetrician Dr Michael Neary, who is being sued by 65 women for allegedly carrying out unjustified hysterectomies during childbirth. Alison Gough, who took the first case, was awarded €273,000 in the High Court last week.