Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 11: To ask the Taoiseach the number of political advisers or assistants appointed by the Attorney General; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43911/06]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 12: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on staffing arrangements in the Attorney General's office and in particular the amounts paid each year to each contract drafter who was utilised by the office in the past five years. [4735/07]

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 13: To ask the Taoiseach the progress made on remedying problems with the on-line Irish Statute Book; the amount expended on this project to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6335/07]

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 14: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on staffing in the Attorney General's office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6336/07]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 15: To ask the Taoiseach the role played by the Office of the Attorney General in regard to determining the level of fees to be paid to legal teams at tribunals of inquiry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7570/07]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 16: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on staffing arrangements in the Office of the Attorney General; the proportion of work contracted out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9640/07]

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 to 16, inclusive, together.

Mr. Loughlin Deegan, a qualified solicitor, was appointed on 29 July 2002 to the position of special assistant to act as a liaison between the Attorney General and myself and other Departments on items relevant to the programme for Government. His duties also include briefing the Attorney General on items arising in the Dáil and Seanad or media which could impinge on, or be relevant to, the role of the Attorney General.

Mr. Deegan does not provide legal advice or legal services directly to Departments but provides advice and assistance directly to the Attorney General on the matters relevant to the work of the Attorney General. He provides assistance to the Attorney General in matters such as the drafting of speeches and public presentations.

The Office of the Attorney General has sanction for 135 staff. Of this number, 15 have recently been sanctioned by the Department of Finance and the office is recruiting these additional staff. Several competitions, organised on behalf of the office by the Public Appointments Service, are in train. These include competitions for advisory counsel grade III and legal researchers. Internal competitions are in train and others are being prepared. There remain a small number of administrative or support posts to be filled from the normal Public Appointments Service general service or decentralisation panels.

In addition to permanent staff, the office retains six drafters on contract. These positions are filled pursuant to Department of Finance sanction. All contract drafters engaged by the office have significant drafting experience either in the State or in common law jurisdictions. In the past, all have previously held senior drafting positions, including former heads of office of the UK Office of Parliamentary Counsel, the Canadian Federal Drafting Office and the Office of the Scottish Parliamentary Counsel. All contract drafters come highly recommended.

Typically, a contract drafter will be given a one-year contract which may subsequently be extended depending on the level of work dictated by the Government's legislative programme and the availability of permanent staff, which can be affected by term-time working arrangements, maternity leave etc. The need for contract drafters is kept under constant review.

The amounts paid in respect of the contract drafters are set out in the following schedule.

Thomson Roundhall delivered its report on 6 February 2007 on the electronic Statute Book. Of the recommendations contained in the report, consideration is being given to two options. The first option could be concluded within seven weeks at a cost of €37,000 and would correct the errors. The second, more technical and less urgent option would involve reformatting and would take 25 weeks at a cost of between €125,000 and €175,000. It is not intended to proceed with it initially. However, this route will be further considered in the context of the electronic Statute Book value for money review which is far advanced. The cost of the feasibility and costs report from Thomson Roundhall was €10,587.50, including VAT.

On the question of the role of the Attorney General in determining fees to be paid, all tribunal counsel fees are sanctioned by the Department of Finance and are paid from the relevant departmental Vote. In that context, the Office of the Attorney General offers a view as to the level of fees payable.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

Schedule — engagement of contract drafters 2002 to 2006

Please note that annual information is presented and that all the contract drafters may not have been engaged at the same time during the year.

During 2002, the office retained four contract drafters and paid amounts of €65,468, €68,755, €72,373 and €137,095.

During 2003, the office retained five contract drafters and paid amounts of €10,158, €69,528, €73,772, €91,390 and €142,270.

During 2004, the office retained six contract drafters and paid amounts of €35,951, €73,807, €81,206, €96,178, €121,682 and €137,762.

During 2005, the office retained seven contract drafters and paid amounts of €1,293, €41,675, €87,668, €114,680, €131,822, €136,462 and €154,668.

During 2006, the office retained eight contract drafters and paid amounts of €15,548, €61,839, €74,536, €92,600, €99,324, €115,904, €144,911 and €168,526.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Does the Taoiseach regard the Office of the Attorney General as a non-political office? I understand the Attorney General has a special adviser who has a political role. As the Attorney General must give advice to the Government, is his office viewed as non-political? When does the Taoiseach expect we will have an on-line version of the pre-1922 statutes that are still legally effective? Persons who wish to gain access to them are very restricted.

Given the on-line version of legislation, which is the one most readily accessible to citizens, researchers, academics, legal practitioners, etc., has been seen to be less than 100% correct, has a trawl been carried out as to the number of items of legislation that are inaccurate in the on-line version? Is the Taoiseach's Department aware certain Acts published on-line are not fully accurate? Is an analysis of that deficiency currently ongoing, and does the Taoiseach have any information as to when, or if, that work will be concluded?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

That was the issue to which I referred. Following the completion of the work, the Attorney General's office found an error in the chronological tables. The office has been seeking to correct the error in that work. As I stated in the reply, two possible options have been identified to correct the errors that have occurred. The first would not take too long. It involves seven weeks of work at a cost of €37,000. I presume that is the option that will be chosen.

Another option would take approximately six months to conclude. This would involve re-formatting the work, which is a more technical job. The Attorney General's office will have to make a decision based on value for money criteria. Considering the investment made, it would appear to be advisable to proceed, unless there was a reason not to do so. Most of the work on-line has not been affected. The work involved in the original project is being used, except where the deficiency concerned arises in regard to work carried out by the company that did the original work — Juta Limited.

This company was originally contracted to provide an electronic version of the Statute Book. A computerised process was used by the company to insert the hyperlinks into the electronic Statute Book. Where one item of legislation refers to another, the first item contains a link which allows the user to click directly into the second. This is a helpful resource which, in the majority of cases, makes the electronic Statute Book user-friendly. This facility works very well. However, in some cases, the technical process used by the original contractors resulted in some legislative texts being obscured.

The contract held with the outside contractor in question ended in 1998 and the company concerned has not been awarded any other contracts by the Office of the Attorney General since that time. A second outside contractor has periodically updated the electronic version of the Statute Book. The hyperlinking error has not been repeated by any of the new outside contractors working on the legislation from 1999 onwards. It is a question of correcting errors in work done prior to that date, which is not too expensive.

Deputies will be aware of the efforts being made by my Department and the Office of the Attorney General to modernise the Statute Book by repealing obsolete pre-1922 legislation. The second Bill relating to this area is currently before the House. It is Government policy to ultimately repeal all of the pre-1922 legislation through an ongoing process of legislative reform. In that context, there is little value in making pre-1922 legislation available in electronic form.

The post referred to in Deputy Kenny's question relates to a special assistant, who works with the Attorney General. It is not an adviser, as is the case in other Departments. That individual liaises with Ministers regarding issues in the Office of the Attorney General and also provides a useful point of contact. In the normal course of events, with so much legal and legislative work, and so many other cases passing through the Office of the Attorney General, it is key to have someone who can liaise. It is not a political issue, but it is very important to have someone who can fulfil that role. For some time, a special assistant has liaised between the Attorney General and the Departments on programmes for Government and day-to-day legislative issues. It is not in the political context of an adviser, since the role is quite different.

Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
Link to this: Individually | In context

We are out of time, but I will hear Deputy Joe Higgins very briefly, since he has been in the House all afternoon, having submitted a question.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

This is the last opportunity before the election to discuss this important issue. I will be very brief.

Can the Taoiseach tell us the three largest sums paid to contractors and state their nationalities? Is he aware of the extreme concern at the employment of so many contract drafters from abroad, including people who have been pensioned off in their home countries, instead of training young people as full-time drafters in the Office of the Attorney General?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

As I said in my reply, some 15 additional staff have been taken on. We have some very able Irish drafters, but there are difficulties when someone is on maternity or special leave as, unlike many other posts, one cannot easily find experienced people. I agree that we should at all times endeavour to have our own draftspeople, and it is to be hoped that the extra staff will help.

I will not go into too much detail as this information is provided with the answer. The three largest sums paid last year were €168,526, €144,911 and €115,904, respectively. We have been using contract drafters for many years. There are normally between four and six in any one year, and other payments tend to be small, depending on the length of the person's employment. We have been lucky, since the House now passes 70 or 80 Bills each year, and without contract drafters we would never be able to keep abreast of the workload.