Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1333. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the amount spent by his Department on legal costs or legal services in each of the past ten years and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [40003/22]
View answerThe information requested in relation to the expenditure incurred by my Department in the past ten years to date in 2022 towards legal costs or legal services is set out below. Legal fees as set out below, exclude any costs incurred directly by my Department's agencies.
|
Year |
Cost (€) |
|
2012 |
34,412 |
|
2013 |
392,182 |
|
2014 |
234,693 |
|
2015 |
152,978 |
|
2016 |
253,688 |
|
2017 |
288,598 |
|
2018 |
1,059,723 |
|
2019 |
614,731 |
|
2020 |
700,114 |
|
2021 |
1,234,758 |
|
2022 (to date) |
327,034 |
These costs refer to legal fees in respect of Irish Youth Justice Service, the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Human Resources. Regular legal fees relating to the work undertaken by Supervisory and Documentary Counsel retained to identify the relevance and privilege status of files requested by the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation have been incurred by my Department from 2016 to 2021, when the Commission concluded its work. Legal fees relating to similar work in relation to the Magdalen Laundries (which moved to my Department through the transfer of functions in 2020) were also incurred between 2020 and 2022. As a result, annual fees charged by the State Claims Agency, which manages liability on behalf of the State, have also increased over these years.
The figures to 2019 are in respect of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, whilst the figures for 2020 to date relate to the expanded remit of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth following the transfer of functions in 2020.
