Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 8, inclusive, together.

The four principal legal functions carried out by the Office of the Attorney General are summarised in paragraph 2.3 of the Sullivan report as (i) the provision of legal advice — advisory counsel; (ii) legislative drafting — Parliamentary Counsel; (iii) the processing of litigation; and (iv) conveyancing and other transactional services, the Chief State's Solicitor's Office, CSSO.

The report on the Sullivan review of the Office of the Attorney General, submitted in June 2006, contained 19 recommendations, the final one being that the director general should keep the implementation and operation of the new measures under review. The report also provided that the first such review is to be completed within six months. Substantial progress has been made already in implementing the recommendations.

To assist the director general, the office put in place an action plan which is regularly monitored by a review working group comprising officials of the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor. The three-person panel of external experts, appointed by the Attorney General to review risk management procedures within the office, has had two meetings with the Attorney General, the director general and the deputy director general. The panel members have been supplied with relevant material to enable them to familiarise themselves with the internal procedures and protocols of the office together with relevant office publications, risk management policy and a risk register. The panel has also met and plans to meet soon with the Chief State Solicitor and the office audit committee. The panel members will also be reviewing the processes involved in dealing with files in the office.

New enhanced procedures in regard to sensitive files were put in place at the end of July, placed on the office intranet and all advisory counsel notified. These procedures will be reviewed in the light of experience.

The office implemented a procedure to consult with and brief relevant Departments to ensure that they develop an appropriate containment strategy for each risk identified. The office prepared and reviewed status reports as to all cases pointing where legislation is being constitutionally challenged. The office's risk assessment policy and risk register were addressed in the office's statement of strategy 2006-08 which was published in July and the register is being reviewed in the context of new business plans.

Protocols have been put in place to ensure the effective handover of responsibilities to new group co-ordinators within the advisory side of the office. Five advisory counsel grade II have been designated to undertake specific responsibility for risk assessment as envisaged in the Sullivan report.

Written reports are now submitted by each advisory counsel grade I to the weekly review meeting and a new legal management committee has been established. The committee which includes the Attorney General, senior officials of the advisory and drafting sides of the Office of the Attorney General and senior officials of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor had its inaugural meeting on 11 October and will meet again in November and thereafter every two months.

Considerable work has been undertaken in regard to development of IT systems to support the management of sensitive cases. Existing systems have already been modified while the new systems being developed will have the necessary functionality. Recommended changes to the office's intranet have also been implemented. The Office has formulated and agreed procedures for mentoring for new advisory counsel, including a general checklist of milestones for litigation cases.

Six advisory counsel grade III have been recruited by the office for training prior to secondment to Departments. The first two secondments — to the Departments of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Education and Science — took place on 2 and 9 October, respectively. Further secondments will follow in coming months.

Discussions have taken place between the office and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions about the transfer of responsibility for fisheries prosecutions to that office. Discussions have also taken place between the office and the Chief State Solicitor's office with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on the transfer of the administration of the Attorney General's scheme.

Formal protocols to ensure that all pleadings and submissions in constitutional and sensitive cases are approved by the Attorney General and confirmed by the director general via the Chief State Solicitor, with notification to Departments and the Secretary General to the Government, were put in place in the measures introduced in August relating to sensitive cases.

Two meetings have taken place between officials of the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to review and assess the effect, if any, on the general enforcement of the criminal law of any constitutional challenges. The results of these meetings have been conveyed to the relevant line Departments and to the Secretary General to the Government. A memorandum for the information of the Government will be submitted at regular intervals giving an update on important litigation being handled by the relevant offices.

The action plan also includes monitoring of the new procedures proposed by the Attorney General which are appended to the Sullivan report. The director general of the Office of the Attorney General hosted a conference on 6 October 2006, attended by representatives from the Attorney General's office, the Chief State Solicitor's office, CSSO, the Courts Service, the Director of Public Prosecutions' office, the Chief Prosecution Solicitor's office and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to discuss channels of communication between all stakeholders in serious litigation cases. At the conference, certain action points were agreed as follows. The office, in consultation with the CSSO, the Director of Public Prosecutions office, DPPO, and the Revenue Solicitor's Office, RSO, would draft and publish a practice note in the Law Society Gazette outlining service requirements for State offices and that counsel would also be made aware of the practice note; the office, the CSSO and the PPO will make contact with the president of the High Court on difficulties caused by the late filing of written submissions in serious litigation cases; and the participating offices will jointly develop a protocol to ensure prompt communication and co-operation between the offices.

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