Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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339. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the expenditure his Department incurred in respect of external legal fees in each of the years from 2016 to date in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14073/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, 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. The costs of any external solicitors or counsel engaged for such matters are not charged to my Department’s Votes.

The expenditure incurred in respect of external legal fees in each year since January 2016 is presented in the following table:

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