Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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504. To ask the Minister for Defence the total legal costs incurred by his Department in 2011, 2012, 2013 and estimated in 2014. [17353/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Chief State Solicitor's Office, Attorney General's Office and the State Claims Agency deal with all legal matters on behalf of the Department. The main requirement for legal services in my Department is in the context of litigation, usually in the form of administrative law and personal injury proceedings. The Chief State Solicitor's Office (CSSO) and the State Claims Agency (SCA) manage and provide legal representation in relation to all cases taken against the Minister for Defence. The Chief State Solicitor's Office is responsible for the costs of the State’s legal teams in cases that it manages on behalf of the Department. External legal costs incurred by the State Claims Agency arising from the defence of any claims managed by the Agency for the Department are refunded to the Agency by the Department. In addition, the Department may pay plaintiff's legal costs as part of awards and settlements. The following table lists the total legal costs incurred in 2011, 2012 and 2013 in relation to such services.

Many factors determine the amount of legal costs estimated for 2014. Such expenditure is subject to a number of unpredictable variables including the timing of court hearings, the progression of cases and number, value and timing of awards and settlements

While it possibly falls outside of the terms of the question, for completeness, I would like to advise that, in 2011 expenditure of €9,075 was incurred in respect of legal advice provided in 2010 to the Selection Committee established under Section 184K of the Defence Acts 1954-2007 for the purpose of identifying officers of the Permanent Defence Force suitable for appointment as a Military Judge.