Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 173: To ask the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 157 of 18 May 2004, the reason the correspondence between the solicitor's office involved which has been ongoing and of considerable detail, has not resulted in the solicitor's fees being discharged in respect of professional services rendered in respect of the estate of a person (details supplied), and which details have been furnished to the Office of the Chief State Solicitor and which is ongoing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40858/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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This is an escheated estate case where the Chief State Solicitor is administering the estate of the deceased who died intestate without next of kin and where the Minister for Finance under the Succession Act 1965 became entitled as ultimate intestate successor to the estate. Correspondence has been ongoing for some time between the Chief State Solicitor's Office and the solicitors for the applicant in respect of a discretionary waiver to the applicant of part of the deceased's estate to the applicant.

The solicitors for the applicant, on behalf of the applicant, have made an application to the Chief State Solicitor's Office to discharge all his client's expenses and his legal fees. This application exceeds the value of the deceased's estate. At all times the Chief State Solicitor's Office have informed the solicitors for the applicant that any payment with regard to his client's expenses will be made on an ex-gratia basis and that legal expenses in processing an application for waiver in respect of an escheated estate are not allowed.

The solicitors for the applicant provided services for his client on a private basis and they do not have any legal claim with regard to their professional fees against the Chief State Solicitor's Office or the Minister, neither can their legal fees be considered as a debt against the deceased's estate.

In order to make a decision with regard to discharging the applicant's expenses, the Chief State Solicitor's Office require that these be duly vouched. Some items listed in the applicant's list of expenses have not been vouched to date and therefore no decision has yet been made in regard to a waiver. The discharge of any expenses, which should be reasonable and fully vouched, will be considered as soon as vouchers in respect of all expenses are made available.