Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 13 February 2014

Public Accounts Committee

2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund

2:00 am

Mr. John Corrigan:

I could not say that. Mr. Breen made a point. We had a competition run under public procurement rules for panels for solicitors and barristers. Compared with the previous fee rates that we were paying, the results of that procurement competition yielded significant savings. Deputy Fleming is saying that the costs are still too high and that may not be an unreasonable view, but we can only manage it within the processes available to us. We have discussed the matter of solicitors previously. Deputy Fleming raised it some years ago. We have established an in-house litigation team and that has resulted in considerable savings in the solicitors area. Mr. Breen may wish to comment on that.