John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the cost to public funds of legal fees and consultancy fees and all other related costs in relation to injunctions, judicial reviews and legal actions involving senior management at the Dublin Institute of Technology in each year since 1 January 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16973/13]

John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the cost to public funds of legal fees and other costs relating to inquiries in relation to staff matters, internal and external, initiated, conducted or authorised by the Dublin Institute of Technology senior management and all other related costs arising in such cases in each year since 1 January 2003; if he will detail the individual costs of each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16974/13]

John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the total expenditure of the Dublin Institute of Technology on legal costs in each year since 1 January 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16975/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 455 to 457, inclusive, together.

My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the HEA institutions. The HEA allocates this grant to institutions for free fees and core grant funding and other specific earmarked initiatives As the Deputy will be aware, higher education institutions such as DIT are autonomous institutions and my Department does not have any function in their day to day operational affairs, including issues of a legal nature, for which the Governing Bodies and the management staff of the institutions are responsible.

The HEA have obtained the attached information from the institution concerned which shows legal expenses from 2003 to 2012. I should point out that as institutions also generate income from other sources outside of the Exchequer such legal expenses cannot be attributed in whole to the Exchequer. The split between Exchequer and own income is circa. 80% and 20% respectively.

In addition to the expenditure reported by DIT my Department incurred costs amounting to €82,710.50 in respect of a statutory enquiry on behalf of the Minister, carried out during 2006 and 2007 into alleged misconduct of a member of staff of DIT. The breakdown of this expenditure by year is €28,876.73 in 2006, €52155.90 in 2007 and €1686.87 in 2008.

Dublin Institute of Technology – legal fee costs 2003 to 2012

External Legal Fees