Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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608. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total amount spent externally by his Department on legal advice for each year since 2015; the solicitors firms involved; the barristers, junior and senior, that provided services to his Department for each such year; the amounts paid to each firm or person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14133/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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My Department generally seeks advice on legal matters from the Office of the Attorney General, the Chief State Solicitor’s Office and the Department’s own Legal Division. In particular, 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 2016 and to date in 2017.

Depending on the subject-matter, litigation, including before the Court of Justice of the European Union, 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 external lawyers to act for the Department where necessary, including for personal injuries claims and other matters. At the international level, my Department, working closely with the Office of the Attorney General, acts as agent for the Government in relation to legal proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights and other international legal courts and bodies. The costs of any external lawyers engaged for litigation are not charged to my Department’s Votes.

The Department’s Missions abroad engage local legal advisers from time to time to deal with a range of miscellaneous matters.