Departmental Expenditure

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 November 2013

Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Questions (327)

Lucinda Creighton

Question:

327. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide in tabular form for each year since 2003, the total cumulative amount in euro paid by his Department to senior counsel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48157/13]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

I wish to inform the Deputy that in the majority of cases legal advice is provided for my Department by the Office of the Attorney General and/or the Office of the Chief State Solicitor and as such the costs incurred are borne by those Offices. Furthermore, my Department's computer records relating to legal fees does not allow us to disaggregate the expenditure down to the level required by the Deputy, i.e Senior Counsel, Junior Counsel, etc. To extract such information, as requested, would require a disproportionate and inordinate amount of staff time and effort to compile and could not be justified in current circumstances where there are other significant demands on resources.