Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 May 2013
16. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on whether sufficient progress is being made in reducing the State’s legal bill across his Department and State agencies under his aegis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24669/13]
View answerIn the normal course, my Department uses the services of the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor in dealing with its own legal business.
In addition, my Department, in line with its general statutory responsibilities, has been engaged with the State’s law offices, who are critically involved in the engagement of legal services, with a view to pursuing reductions in overall costs. Reductions in legal costs are being achieved over the last few years through a number of different measures:
- The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) Act 2009 imposed reductions on levels of professional fees, including legal fees.
- The State Claims Agency has reduced fees paid to barristers by 25% and has established a legal costs unit to handle third party costs associated with the Mahon and Moriarty Tribunals.
- A range of Departments and Offices have achieved reductions in legal fees and enhanced mechanisms for rigorous examination of claims have been introduced in both the Chief State Solicitor’s and the Director of Public Prosecutions’ Offices.
In relation to the procurement of legal services generally by the State, the position is that such 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 very shortly issue a circular underlining the importance of competitive tendering for such services to all public bodies.
In addition, the National Procurement Service (NPS) has set up a working group on legal services to examine ways to assist public bodies that procure legal services and to determine how resources can be leveraged to achieve best value for money. The Working Group consists of representatives from the NPS, my Department, the Department of Justice & Equality, the Chief State Solicitor’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General. The work of this group will now be absorbed into the operations of the newly-formed Office of Government Procurement.
