Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide details in tabular form for the years 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and to date in 2012 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 he will make a statement on the matter. [45318/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that, with very few exceptions, legal advice is provided for my Department by the Office of the Attorney General and/or the Office of the Chief State Solicitor. As such, the issues of fees and competitive tendering do not arise. The specific information sought by the Deputy in respect of my Department and bodies and agencies for which I have responsibility, is outlined in the table below.

I wish to advise the Deputy that there are a range of agencies and bodies within the Justice sector who are statutorily independent and for whom I do not have responsibility. Information in respect of these bodies is not provided in this reply.