In general, my Department uses the services of the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor. However it seeks outside legal advisors in circumstances requiring legal services of a specific nature. The costs associated with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor are borne by their respective Votes. The following tables set out the detail sought by the Deputy in relation to the legal fees paid by my Department and by the Offices under the aegis of my Department for the years 2007, 2008, 2009 and to date in 2010.
The Office of Public Works was unable to provide the information requested by the Deputy in the time available, however, this information is being collated and will be issued directly to the Deputy.
|
Advisor
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010 (to date)
|
Reason
|
Tendered (Yes/No)
|
|
McCann Fitzgerald
|
0
|
48,400
|
0
|
0
|
Advice relating to procurement of air/ transport agency services
|
Yes
|
|
McCann Fitzgerald
|
39,325
|
14,664
|
0
|
0
|
Advice relating to Public Sector Standard Conditions of engagement for construction consultants
|
Yes
|
|
Matheson Ormsby Prentice
|
25,549
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Advice relating to general supplies and services contracts
|
Yes
|
|
Max Abrahamson
|
12,100
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Advice relating to Public Sector Standard Conditions and amendments to Arbitration and Conciliation regulations
|
Yes
|
|
Arthur Cox
|
0
|
1,628,024
|
5,875,869
|
3,907,000
|
Advice relating to bank guarantee scheme
|
No*
|
|
A&L Goodbody
|
137,090
|
182,007
|
0
|
0
|
Advice relating to Standard Public Works Contracts for works contractors
|
Yes
|
|
A&L Goodbody
|
66,657
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Advice relating to Public Private Partnership, terms and conditions
|
Yes
|
|
A&L Goodbody
|
112,050
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Advice relating to sale of ACC bank
|
Yes
|
|
Paul O’Higgins S.C.
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
15,125
|
Advice provided to Messrs Regling and Watson as part of their preliminary investigation into the banking sector
|
Yes
|
*Normal procurement procedures were not followed because of the urgency of the issue.
|
Advisor
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010 (to date)
|
Reason
|
Tendered (Yes/No)
|
|
Public Appointments Service
|
|
Matheson Ormsby Prentice
|
0
|
17,000
|
0
|
0
|
Advice in relation to awarding of a commercial contract
|
No*
|
|
Office of the Commission for Public Service Appointments
|
|
Matheson Ormsby Prentice
|
130,000
|
115,000
|
109,000
|
7,000
|
General advice in relation to the Commissions work
|
Yes
|
|
State Laboratory
|
|
Darach ConnollySolicitors
|
0
|
103,000
|
0
|
0
|
Advice in relation to a personal injury claim
|
**
|
|
Sarah Mahon Solicitors
|
0
|
0
|
86,000
|
|
Advice in relation to a compensation claim by an individual
|
**
|
*Normal procurement procedures were not followed because of the urgency of the issue.
**The Chief State Solicitors Office engaged the services of the solicitors involved on behalf of the State Laboratory.
A payment of €1,000 in 2010 was made to the State Claims Agency for legal opinion they received in a case involving the issuing of incorrect results by the State Laboratory. Both the Valuation Office and the Office of the Appeals Commissioners incurred no legal fees in the period in question.
Revenue
The Revenue Solicitor provides legal services for Revenue and in that capacity engages external barristers in circumstances that require specific legal advices and legal opinions on issues in Tax, Customs and general litigation, for advising proofs for Court and Administrative Tribunal cases and for providing full advocacy services in the conduct on Tax, Customs and general litigation (both civil and criminal) before the District, Circuit, High and Supreme Courts, Appeal Commissioners and other administrative tribunals. The use of a competitive tendering process for these services is not feasible.
Details of the amounts paid to various external barristers in the years 2007, 2008, 2009 and to end October 2010 are given in the following table as Counsel Fees. Revenue also engages external solicitors for various services of a legal nature. The majority of these services relate to the collection/recovery of debt due to Revenue/Exchequer. For the years in question Revenue's Office of the Collector General engaged firms of solicitors following tendering processes in line with public procurement guidelines. Details of payments made to each of these firms of solicitors are given in the following table.
Revenue
|
Description
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010 (to date)
|
Total
|
|
Engagement of Barristers
|
Counsel Fees
|
1,315,252
|
1,914,880
|
1,660,464
|
837,128
|
5,727,724
|
|
For the supply of legal services for the collection/recovery of debt due to Revenue/ Exchequer
|
Holmes, O’Malley, Sexton
|
714,861
|
838,145
|
738,295
|
605,886
|
2,897,187
|
|
Ivor Fitzpatrick & Co
|
643,981
|
615,345
|
1,155,080
|
826,026
|
3,240,432
|
|
George V Maloney
|
684,732
|
471,984
|
598,573
|
399,986
|
2,155,275
|
|
Mason, Hayes & Curran
|
633,536
|
773,212
|
662,172
|
519,408
|
2,588,328
|
|
Matheson, Ormsby, Prentice
|
916,065
|
794,517
|
746,975
|
622,680
|
3,080,237
|
|
Pierse & Fitzgibbon
|
741,625
|
846,706
|
837,588
|
300,478
|
2,726,397
|
|
Patrick J Brady & Co
|
7,453
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
7,453
|
|
Lavelle, Coleman
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
182,369
|
182,369
|
|
Miscellaneous Legal
|
17,365
|
20,731
|
62,102
|
23,150
|
123,349
|
|
Commissioner for Oaths & Other legal services
|
Commissioner for Oaths
|
30,042
|
48,072
|
63,524
|
45,061
|
186,699
|
|
P35 Prosecutions
|
State Solicitor
|
0
|
5,096
|
841
|
294
|
6,231
|
|
Total
|
|
5,704,912
|
6,328,689
|
6,525,615
|
4,362,466
|
22,921,682
|
