Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 191: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform if he will provide an itemised list of payments made to external solicitors and to external barristers whose services were procured directly by the Department and by each agency and body under its aegis in the years 2007, 2008, 2009 and to date in 2010; the reason for each such procurement; if such services were procured through competitive tendering processes in every instance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40944/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I can inform the Deputy that, for the most part, the legal services sought by my Department and its associated bodies are co-ordinated and paid for by the Office of the Attorney General and Office of the Chief State Solicitor. These services are typically sought in the context of the preparation of legislation, legal advice in respect of policy issues and in the management of litigation including judicial reviews.

In a number of instances, my Department and its associated bodies, in accordance with normal procurement procedures, have sought and paid for legal advice and services additional to those provided for centrally by the Attorney General and the Chief State Solicitor. However, in the time available to reply to this Question, it is not feasible to extract the information sought by the Deputy without a disproportionate use of resources in gathering and compiling the list of payments sought.