Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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42. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide in tabular form a list of all professional fees, including but not limited to legal, consultancy, IT-related, advisory, capital, advertising and accountancy, charged to his Department and agencies under the aegis of his Department, detailing the company name and the amount invoiced between 1 May 2011 and 31 December 2013. [1946/14]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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My Department engages a range of external service providers in a number of areas where the required skills are not available in-house and it is more cost-effective to source them externally. Details of payments in respect of the areas specified by the Deputy for the period in question are set out in the tables below in respect Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs and Trade) and of Vote 27 (International Cooperation). The list of service providers also includes a number of other professional services such as advertising, interpretation and translation (including payments to the European Commission for Interpretation Services provided during the EU Presidency), language and other training, and travel booking services.

With regard to legal services, litigation is dealt with on my Department’s behalf by the Chief State Solicitor’s Office and the State Claims Agency who engage lawyers to act for the Department where necessary in relation to personal injuries claims and other matters. Legal advice on contractual and other matters arising from time to time is initially sought from the Chief State Solicitor’s Office and/or the Office of the Attorney General, and the use of external legal advisors for such requirements is kept to a minimum.

There are also small costs incurred on professional fees at missions abroad where advice is sought from time to time on a range of local matters.

Vote 28 Foreign Affairs and Trade

Vote 27 International Cooperation