Written answers
Wednesday, 2 November 2016
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Departmental Legal Costs
Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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245. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount that his Department spent on external legal advice in each of the years 2013, 2014 and 2015; the names of each of the legal firms that provided advice to his Department in each of those years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32912/16]
Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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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, 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, including for personal injuries claims and other matters. The costs of any external solicitors or counsel engaged for such matters are not charged to my Department’s Votes.
The Chief State Solicitor’s Office provides legal advice in relation to commercial contracts and public procurement matters. The Department has not engaged external private sector legal advice on these matters for any of the years 2013 to 2014 and 2015.
The Department’s Missions abroad engage local legal advisers from time to time to deal with a range of miscellaneous matters.
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