Departmental Legal Costs

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 March 2014

Tuesday, 11 March 2014

Questions (418)

Denis Naughten

Question:

418. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will set out in tabular form, by reference to each named firm, the amount paid out in respect of legal fees during 2013 by his Department to law firms in or outside the State for services rendered to it; if he will provide in a similar format the amount paid out in respect of legal fees during 2013 by State bodies, including commercial or non-commercial and regulatory bodies established by or under his Department, to law firms in or outside the State for services rendered to them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11875/14]

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. However, on a few occasions my Department has incurred expenditure in respect of legal fees to law firms in respect of services received. Details of such costs incurred during 2013 are set out below.

The Deputy should note that I am not responsible to the Dáil for operational matters concerning independent statutory bodies under the remit of my Department and, consequently, the information in my reply does not relate to them.

Name of Law Firm	Amount - €
Sheehan & Partners	461
Dixon Quinlan	461
Cormac O'Callaghan & Co. Patrick J. Connellan & Co. Karen M. Clabby	*354

*The Deputy may wish to note that the amount of €354 was incurred by the Irish Prison Service in relation to affidavits. I am advised that it is not possible to provide a breakdown of the amounts paid to each of the three law firms. 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.