Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 February 2017
320. Deputy John Deasy asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the amount spent during 2016 by his Department and by each named public body under his Department's remit on legal services, by reference to each firm or individual engaged, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8037/17]
View answerThe Chief State Solicitor’s Office is responsible for the costs of the State’s legal teams in litigation cases that it manages on behalf of my Department. The State Claims Agency (SCA) manages and provides legal representation in relation to personal injury cases taken against the Minister for Defence. External legal costs incurred by the SCA arising from the defence of any claims managed by the Agency for my Department are refunded to the Agency by the Department. In 2016, my Department refunded €500,538 to the SCA in respect of the Department’s legal costs. My Department does not hold details of the fees paid to the individual legal firms engaged by the SCA. In addition while my Department does not engage the services directly it funds the provision of legal aid in respect of Court Marital Appeals Court cases.
Outside of the cases managed by the Chief State Solicitor’s Office and the State Claims Agency, a payment of €23,954 was made to Colm Smyth, Senior Counsel in 2016 to carry out an independent review into a disclosure made under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014.
