asked the Minister for Finance whether, having regard to the fact that the State did not engage senior counsel or junior counsel in the District Court in the original prosecution against Paul Singer, a special allowance was paid to the Assistant State Solicitor handling the case; and, if so, if he will state (i) the amount of such sum, (ii) the legal authority for the payment of such sum to a solicitor in the full-time employment of the State, and on whose recommendation it was made and (iii) whether in view of the fact that the services in respect of which payment was made have been proved nugatory he will seek the return of the money and, if not, why.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - State v. Singer: Solicitor's Allowance.
3.
While the Attorney General at times engages counsel to conduct the taking of depositions in the District Court it is not his usual practice. In the case referred to the material received from the investigating Gardaí was not received in a form in which it could conveniently be made available to Counsel. At the special request of the Attorney General the Chief State Solicitor assigned one of his most experienced assistants to conduct the taking of the depositions. The preparation of the case for presentation involved the examination of many thousands of transactions representing millions of pounds sterling and the consideration of hundreds of statements taken from employees of the firm, investors and others. Part of the Senior Assistant Solicitor's task was the examination of all this material and its reduction to measurable compass for presentation in Court. For that purpose he had hundreds of consultations with Gardaí and other witnesses, the majority of which had to be held outside normal working hours. The Solicitor's own work in making up the case for presentation in Court was to a large extent also carried out outside normal working hours.
The Attorney General in view of the complexity of the case and the amount of work done outside normal office hours represented to me that the exceptional services rendered by the Solicitor in the case warranted recognition in the form of payment of a gratuity, and I agreed with that view. In the exercise of my general powers, I occasionally authorise the payment of gratuities of this nature. A gratuity of £250 was paid to the Solicitor concerned.
I do not accept that any nugatory expenditure was incurred in this case.
Recognising the excellence of the work done by the Assistant State Solicitor in this case, is it not a pity that so much money was lost as a result of the failure of the Attorney General to carry on with the good work?
That does not seem to arise directly from the question.
It does not.
He only wants to get the dig in.