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Departmental Expenditure.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2004

Thursday, 19 February 2004

Questions (237, 238)

Seán Crowe

Question:

237 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the amount spent by her Department on legal advice and lawyers in each of past three years; the amount paid out in settlement of legal proceedings against her Department, including cases settled prior to coming to court in each of the past three years, omitting expenses relating to tribunals of inquiry. [5471/04]

View answer

Written answers

Legal advice and support services for my Department, in respect of court cases and legal challenges in which my Department is a named party, are supplied by the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor, as appropriate. From 2001 until August 2003, my Department employed a legal advisor, the gross salary for this post for the years 2001 to 2003 inclusive were:

Year

Gross Salary

2001

€34,931.28

2002

€52,474.85

2003

€32,003.86

In August 2003, the post was vacated when the serving officer elected to take a career break. The post has not yet been filled and my Department has incurred no other expenditure in seeking legal advice.

The costs of legal proceedings to my Department for the period in question are as follows:

Year

Settlement

Costs

Total

2001

Nil

Nil

2002

3,809.21

46,792.98

50,602.19

2003

48,637.73

3,084.00

51,721.73

Dan Boyle

Question:

238 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the anticipated increases in phone costs to her Department after recent phone rental price rises. [5505/04]

View answer

It is estimated that the increase in phone charges for my Department arising from the price increase announced in January 2004 will amount to approximately €56,000.

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