Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 7: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the implementation of the Nally report under the re-organisation of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39765/05]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 8: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the reorganisation of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3210/06]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 9: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the reorganisation of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor. [5503/06]

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive, together.

The recommendations of the Nally report in relation to the re-organisation of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor have been largely implemented. Agreement with the unions involved was achieved during 2001. The criminal prosecutions functions undertaken by the Office of the Chief State Solicitor were transferred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions at the end of 2001.

A common promotion pool within the two offices between the CSSO and the solicitors' division of the DPP's office for professional solicitor and technical promotion posts formed part of the agreement and this is now operating. A negotiation process with local State solicitors is currently under way seeking to agree on the transfer of the service to the DPP. Consultants appointed to undertake a study of the current workload of local State solicitors and their expense base have recently submitted their report which is now under consideration in the Office of the Chief State Solicitor and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. It will be used as the basis for substantive negotiations with the State solicitors' association. All sides are anxious to conclude these negotiations as quickly as possible. Enabling legislation and appropriate legislative provisions are contained in the Civil Service Regulation (Amendment) Act 2005 which was signed by the President on 9 July 2005.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Last October, the Taoiseach told the Dáil these negotiations were under way with the local State solicitors with a view to transferring that service to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Have they concluded or is that review complete? What is the current status of the negotiations with local State solicitors? Is there a timescale for the transfer of functions to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions? Has a date been fixed?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Most of the issues have been dealt with, including the common promotion pool within the two offices between the CSSO and the solicitors' division of the DPP's office for professional solicitor and technical promotion posts. The only remaining element is that of the State solicitors. The report has been completed and the Chief State Solicitor and the DPP are examining it, that is in terms of their tactics for the negotiations. I understand that all sides have agreed that they should conclude this. One can guess what it all comes down to but they have agreed. The legislative provisions are already there and I suppose it is now down to financial and administrative issues.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Is the Taoiseach aware that among the functions of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor is the advising and representing of the State in asylum and refugee law cases and the conveyancing of State property and related property law services? In the context of the reorganisation, and given the increase in asylum and refugee cases in recent years, has that entailed an increased work load and have additional staff been recruited in the Office of the Chief State Solicitor in order to cope? Are those staff working in the section required to be fully conversant with international human rights law and standards and Ireland's obligations under them?

Deputy Parlon, who has responsibility for decentralisation, is sitting beside the Taoiseach. In the context of the current decentralisation programme and the role of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor with regard to conveyancing, has that also encroached, because of the proposed relocation of Departments and entire sections of Departments, in terms of the time and work load of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor? Does the increased extensive legal work in conveyancing mean additional staff are already in situ or being recruited in order to meet that purpose?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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While decentralisation issues are large in terms of finance deals, they do not take any longer to deal with than very small cases. However, the work of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor, in immigration and all kinds of areas, has increased and continues to do so. A staff complement of 230 has now been approved and the Office of the DPP is recruiting the additional staff sanctioned. That office now has a staff complement of approximately 170. There have been substantial increases in staffing rates over the past five years. An agreement was reached a few years ago. There has been an increase of 75 staff, including 66 professional technical staff. A new recruitment scale for solicitors has replaced the old two-tier system. Some 52 extra professional staff have been appointed to both offices while 12 extra senior posts have been created along with 14 extra technical posts. More legal clerks have also been recruited. All those extra staff are now in place but their workload has grown. They have also undertaken a major IT modernisation programme. That work, which began in 2000, was completed, by and large, by last year.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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With regard to advising on commercial contracts and so on, does the Taoiseach know if that workload is increasing or reducing? Yesterday we had a discussion on the role of the NDFA, the National Development Finance Agency, and the infrastructure programmes. Must the Office of the Chief State Solicitor be involved with major commercial contracts entered into by the State? Is that office still the main source of legal advice or would agencies like the NDFA get outside advice?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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To the best of my knowledge the NDFA uses outside legal advice. I do not know to what extent it uses the Office of the Chief State Solicitor but I know the NDFA uses outside legal advice because I get a monthly schedule of the projects in which it is involved. The legal work of Departments is traditionally done through the Office of the Chief State Solicitor. There is no ideological reason for not contracting out the work. We have contracted out work in specific cases where the workload involved was beyond the capacity of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor. That office also makes extensive use of legal counsel in dealing with day to day cases. In the case of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, more prosecution work is now outsourced to barristers and private practice than in most other common law jurisdictions. There has been a sea-change in that regard over the past few years. All of the advocacy work in contested jury trials is outsourced to the Bar. In other common law jurisdictions the tendency now is to make greater use of in-house lawyers. Local State solicitors are of course private practitioners who work on contract for the State rather than as State employees, but that issue is currently under discussion.