Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 July 2012
296 Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the co-ordinated action that he has taken to address the issue of legal fees incurred by the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29722/12]
View answerOver the past few years, my Department has been engaged with the State's law offices, which are critically involved in the engagement of legal services, with a view to pursuing reductions in overall costs and increasing competitive forces. Reductions in fee levels are being achieved through a number of different measures. In accordance with the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009 and the Government decision of 3 February 2009 which provided for an 8% reduction in professional fees payable by Government Departments and State Agencies, an 8% reduction to all legal fees with effect from 1 March 2009 was applied to Legal counsel fees in the Chief State Solicitor's Office; Brief and Refresher fees in the Director of Public Prosecution's Office; Payment of Witness Expenses; State Solicitors fees (this came into effect on 5th May 2009); Criminal and Civil Legal Aid fees including barrister, private practitioner, medical and legal fees; and Tribunal fees. Subsequently, on foot of budget 2010, a further 8% reduction with effect from 1 January 2010 was applied to legal counsel fees in the Chief State Solicitor's Office; Brief and Refresher fees in the Director of Public Prosecution's Office; and Criminal and Civil Legal Aid fees.
In more recent times, this path has been pursued further. A fee reduction of 10% on Criminal Legal Aid fees was applied with effect from 13 July 2011 and 1 October 2011 for District, and Circuit and Higher Courts, respectively. Changes in the structure of the day 1 fee in the District Court, a reduction of 50% in the rate paid in respect of travel and subsistence and a reduction of 50% in the rate paid for sentence fees in respect of adjourned sentence hearings in the Circuit and higher courts were also applied. A pre-approval process prior to engaging expert witnesses and a time limit of 24 months for submission of fee claims were introduced. In October 2011, a further 10% reduction was applied to brief and refresher fees paid by the Director of Public Prosecution' Office to reduce the level of fees in parallel with the reductions applied to fees payable under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme. A further 10% reduction was applied to Tribunal fees on 1 March 2012. The Legal Aid Board has served notice on the Bar Council of its withdrawal from the existing agreement with the Bar Council on Civil Legal Aid fees and its adoption of new arrangements which will have the effect, over time, of significantly reducing fees payable to barristers.
Enhanced mechanisms for rigorous examination of claims have also been introduced in both the Chief State Solicitor's and the Director of Public Prosecution's Offices. In relation to procurement policy, the position is that legal services are not exempt from public procurement rules and many authorities tender for their legal services. To raise awareness in this regard, my Department, following consultations with the Attorney General's Office, will shortly issue a circular underlining the importance of competitive tendering for such services to all public bodies. In addition, the National Procurement Service set up a working group on legal services earlier this year to examine ways to assist public bodies that procure legal services and to examine how resources can be leveraged to achieve best value for money. The Working Group consists of representatives from the National Procurement Service, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of Justice and Equality, the Chief State Solicitor's Office and the Office of the Attorney General.
