P J Sheehan (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 75: To ask the Minister for Finance the amount paid by his Department in legal fees for each of the years from 2000 to date in 2010; the amount paid in legal fees by each of the agencies and bodies under the aegis of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29130/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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In general, my department uses the services of the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor, and seeks outside legal advisors in circumstances requiring legal services of a specific nature. The costs associated with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor are borne by the respective Votes.

The following table sets out the legal fee expenditure paid by my Department and by the Offices under its aegis, to other Solicitors and Barristers, in the years 2000 to date in 2010. Due to systems changes and archiving, the figures for my Department in respect of the earlier years (2000-2003) are not readily available and the information is not being provided as the cost of producing such material would not be justified due to the inordinate amount of time it would take to retrieve. Accordingly, the table is only populated from 2004-2010 in respect of my Department.

+ Came into being in 2005 (Public Appointments use the services of the CSSO and the AG's office in the significant majority of cases)