Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 February 2014
52. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount of expenditure by his Department on external legal fees in the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 and to date in 2014; if he will provide the name of each law firm in receipt of fees from his Department with a breakdown of the amount paid to each firm in each of those years. [8509/14]
View answerMy Department generally seeks advice on domestic legal matters from the Office of the Attorney General and/or the Chief State Solicitor’s Office.
Depending on the subject-matter, litigation is dealt with on my Department’s behalf by the Attorney General’s Office, the Chief State Solicitor’s Office or the State Claims Agency which engage lawyers to act for the Department where necessary, including for personal injuries claims and other matters. The costs of any external solicitors or counsel engaged for such matters are not charged to my Department’s Votes.
The Chief State Solicitor’s Office provides legal advice in relation to commercial contracts and public procurement matters. The Department has not engaged external private sector legal advice on these matters for any of the years 2011 to 2014 to date.
The Department’s Missions abroad engage local legal advisers from time to time to deal with a range of miscellaneous matters.
