54.— (1) Subject to the guidelines (if any) issued under section 53, a witness in, or other person affected by, the proceedings of a Part 2 inquiry may apply in the specified form to the Oireachtas Commission to be paid the Part 2 inquiry expenses incurred by him or her.

(2) Subject to the guidelines (if any) issued under section 53 and to section 67(3), the Oireachtas Commission may pay, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, the reasonable Part 2 inquiry expenses the subject of an application under subsection (1).

(3) An application under subsection (1) may be refused in whole or in part if the circumstances referred to in section 55(1) or (2) apply.