Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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268. To ask the Minister for Defence the total legal costs incurred by his Department in 2011, 2012, 2013 and estimated in 2014. [49337/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, 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 my 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 and the State Claims Agency 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 plaintiffs’ legal costs as part of awards and settlements. The following table lists the total legal costs incurred in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and to the end of November 2014 in relation to such services.