Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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462. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total cost to his Department and those under his aegis of the procurement of legal services in the State from 2011 to 2015, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44574/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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My Department is responsible for two Votes, Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs and Trade) and Vote 27 (International Cooperation).

My Department generally seeks advice on domestic legal matters from the Office of the Attorney General and/or the Chief State Solicitor’s Office. Depending on the subject-matter, domestic litigation is dealt with on my Department’s behalf by the Attorney General’s Office, the Chief State Solicitor’s Office or the State Claims Agency which engage lawyers to act for the Department where necessary and pay their fees. Department has a Legal Division, which deals with matters of public international law, human rights law, and European Union law and other relevant legal issues. The Division also acts as agent for the Government before certain international courts and tribunals, such as the European Court of Human Rights. In this regard, it works closely with the Office of the Attorney General, which pays the fees of external lawyers.

The amounts incurred by my Department in legal costs (excluding settlement costs/awards) in the years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and to end-November 2015 are set out in the table: