Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 923: To ask the Minister for Defence in each of the years 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 the arrangements entered into by his Department for the obtaining of advice from a firm of solicitors and or from senior or junior counsel; in each case the subject matter in respect of which advices were sought, the name of the solicitors firm and or barristers concerned and the fees paid; the nature of the work concerned, that is, whether it involved the drafting of legislation or the obtaining of legal advices; whether in each case the matter concerned was advertised for tender and where not, why not. [1618/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 925: To ask the Minister for Defence with regard to legal services used by his Department, any Body under the aegis of his Department and any State agency for which he is responsible; if he will give details of the legal services of which there has been competitive tendering in each of the years 2008, 2009 and 2010; the legal firm in each case that furnished advice with regard to any such tendering and assisted in the preparation of tender documents and in each case to detail the solicitors firm who succeeded in each tendering process, the nature of the work for which each firm successfully tendered and the fees paid for any such advice or assistance to each firm for work for which it tendered. [1648/11]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 923 and 925 together.

The Chief State Solicitors Office and the State Claims Agency deal with all legal matters on behalf of the Department. As such it would seldom arise that the Department procure the services of external solicitors and barristers directly.

In 2007 McCann Fitzgerald solicitors were contracted, through a competitive tendering process, to provide legal drafting, research and advice services in relation to the drafting of new Rules and Procedure and Court Martial Rules following the enactment of the Defence (Amendment) Act, 2007. A payment for this service was made in 2008 to the value of €53,845 which included VAT. No legal firm was involved in the preparation of the tender documents.

The Defence Forces Canteen board has procured legal advice from B.P. McCormack & Son, Solicitors. The only payment made in the years listed was a payment of €5,505.50 in 2008 in relation to two cases. Firstly, advice was sought concerning the amendment of regulations and, secondly, legal advice was sought in a case taken by an employee of the Board.