Departmental Expenditure.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2009

Tuesday, 10 February 2009

Questions (82)

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

136 Deputy Jim O’Keeffe asked the Taoiseach if a separate account is kept in the Office of the Chief State Solicitor of the outlays by way of counsel and otherwise and costs involved in the fighting of major litigation on behalf of the State; if he will furnish the costs incurred; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4441/09]

Written answers

The Taoiseach

The Chief State Solicitor's Office tracks fees paid by the Office to counsel representing the State and other State legal expenses paid by the Office for the legal cases in which it is involved. The following table shows the Office's expenditure in 2007 and 2008 (provisional) on State Counsel Fees and State general law expenses, the vast majority of which involved litigation cases.

	State Counsel Fees	State General Law Expenses*
	€	€
2007	15,119,000	4,759,000
2008 (Provisional Outturn)	17,798,000	4,972,000

*Includes expenditure on stenographers, expert witnesses, etc.