Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 3 June 2021
Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach
Estimates for Public Services 2021 (Resumed)
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 4 - Central Statistics Office (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (Revised)
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source
I have a question about Vote 6. It does not relate to the census, so maybe it can be brought back if the Minister of State does not have the answer. It relates to legal fees paid to counsel. Under Vote 6, the Office of the Chief State Solicitor stated that it is fair to say fees paid by the State are lower than those in private practice. I am quite interested in the State's overall level of expenditure on legal fees. It is information that is not collected by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. In the context of the statement that fees paid by the State are lower than those in private practice, has a study been carried out on this? As I said, it does not relate to the census, so if it is something that can be brought back to me, that would be great.
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