Departmental Legal Costs

Tuesday, 16 July 2013

Questions (276)

Niall Collins

Question:

276. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Finance if he has sought and received legal advice outside the Office of the Attorney General; the number of times advice was sought per year in 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; the costs of outside legal advice per year in 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34982/13]

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Written answers

Minister for Finance

In general, my Department uses the services of the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor for legal advice. However, it also uses outside legal advisers in circumstances requiring legal services of a specific nature. The costs associated with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor are borne by their respective Votes. The following table sets out the information sought by the Deputy in relation to legal advice outside the Office of the Attorney General paid by my Department for the years 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013.

Advisor	Cost 2011	Cost 2012	Cost 2013 (YTD)	Reason
David Lennon BL	€7,638	Nil	Nil	Nyberg Commission of Inquiry Discovery Report
Garret Byrne BL	€6,939	Nil	Nil	Nyberg Commission of Inquiry Discovery Report
Matheson	Nil	€289,604	€670,791	Advice on transactions undertaken by the Minister in relation to Irish Life.
Arthur Cox	€1,169,614	€2,929,427	€981,012	Advice relating to Bank Guarantee Scheme.
David Barniville SC	€36,402	Nil	Nil	Advice in relation to Credit Institutions Stabilisation Act.
Niamh Hyland BL	€24,657	Nil	Nil	Advice in relation to Credit Institutions Stabilisation Act.