Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 120: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide details for the years 2006 to 2011, inclusive, of the arrangements entered into by him, any body under his aegis or State agency for which he has responsibility, for the obtaining of advice from a senior or junior counsel and or a firm of solicitors; the subject matter for which advice was sought; the names of the barristers and solicitors firms concerned and the fees paid; the nature of the work concerned; if in each case the matter was advertised for competitive tender and if not, the reason; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30968/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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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. However, it also 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 their respective Votes. The following tables set out the detail sought by the Deputy in relation to the legal fees paid by my Department and by the Offices under the aegis of my Department for the years 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and to date in 2011.

The Deputy should note, that information in respect of my Department covers some activities for which responsibility transferred to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform from July 2011.

Both the national Treasury Management Agency and the Central Bank were unable to provide the information requested by the Deputy in the time available, however this information is being collated and will be issued to the Deputy.

Department of Finance

Office of the Appeal Commissioners

Nil reply

Office of the C&AG

The C&AG's role as auditor of the accounts of all Government Departments, other Funds controlled by the State and many State Sponsored Bodies can lead to situations where the Office has to obtain independent legal advice as a conflict of interest could arise for the Attorney General as the legal adviser representing the body the Office requires legal advice on. The Office procures all legal services for a period of three years at a time, using a competitive open tendering process. It is not possible to set out the individual subject matter of advice sought over each three-year period. Indicatively, the Office seeks a firm of solicitors which can offer the following types of advice; Litigation, Contract Law, Defamation, Employment Law, Administrative Law and Legislation.

Legal advice was sought on a case-by-case basis, where the primary provider of legal services during the period concerned suffered from a conflict of interest.Where the Office procures legal advice seperately to this draw down arrangement, the subject of the advice is given in the table below.

Office of C&AG

Revenue

I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the Revenue Solicitor provides legal services for Revenue and in that capacity engages external barristers in circumstances that require specific legal advices and legal opinions on issues in Tax, Customs and general litigation, for advising proofs for Court and Administrative Tribunal cases and for providing full advocacy services in the conduct of Tax, Customs and general litigation (both civil and criminal) before the District, Circuit, High and Supreme Courts, Appeal Commissioners and other administrative tribunals. The use of a competitive tendering process for these services is not feasible.

Virtually all the fees paid to Counsel relate to tax and customs compliance, including tax avoidance. The requirement for legal advice arises in the context of individual tax and customs cases, which cannot be detailed for reasons of taxpayer confidentiality, where Revenue is challenging, or being challenged. Other than the figures in Table 2 below, it is not possible to disaggregate the fees paid for advice from those paid for litigation and advocacy services.

For completeness, I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that following competitive tender they entered into contracts with firms of solicitors to provide legal services associated with debt collection and recovery. These are essentially outsourcing contracts and the expenditure is set out in Table 3 below.

Barristers Fees 2006

Barristers Fees 2007

Barristers Fees 2008

Barristers Fees 2009

Barristers Fees 2010

Barristers Fees 2011