Ms Catherine Fahy:

We renewed the contract with our existing provider. At that point our situation was somewhat confused because we did not know how imminently we would be dealing with a proposal to combine our governance structures with those of the National Museum of Ireland. We did not know whether we would need to seek new legal services in combination with the National Museum of Ireland or whether we would receive services from the Chief State Solicitor. We were also unsure about our situation with regard to the State Claims Agency. A procurement process was started in conjunction with the National Museum of Ireland, but because of all these issues, it was abandoned. As a number of cases were also ongoing with our existing provider, we felt it would be preferable to stay with that provider until the position was clarified. In 2013 we applied to be delegated to the State Claims Agency. We were delegated by statutory instrument on 19 April 2014. The State Claims Agency will now manage personal injuries and third party claims against the library, which we think will significantly reduce our requirement for external legal advice in the future.