Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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41. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total spend by his Department on external legal services in each of the past three years; the main areas of legal activity for which external advice was sought; if he will provide a breakdown by case or category; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40836/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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42. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount spent on legal fees associated with litigation, advice and settlements in each of the past three years by his Department and agencies under its aegis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40880/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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54. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if all external legal fees incurred by his Department, and by any bodies under its aegis, are charged at negotiated discounted rates; how fees are monitored for compliance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41504/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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55. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his Department conducts regular benchmarking, or market testing, to ensure that the rates paid for legal services, solicitors and barristers represent value for money for the taxpayer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41522/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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56. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to detail the procurement processes used when engaging external legal firms and barristers, including whether panels are used; how often these are refreshed; the criteria used for selection and performance review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41540/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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57. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his Department has conducted any audits or reviews in the past five years on legal fee spend; if so, to publish the findings or summaries of those reviews; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41558/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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58. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the internal oversight that exists within his Department to monitor the scope, duration, and cost escalation of legal services once engaged; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41576/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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59. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his Department makes use of capped fee arrangements, fixed-fee briefs, success-based fee models or other such arrangements in its legal engagements; if not, the reason such options are not considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41594/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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60. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether any legal engagements have exceeded their initial estimated or approved cost in the past three years; if so, the number of such cases and total overrun; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41612/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 41, 42 and 54 to 60, inclusive, together.

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 Department also incurs legal fees overseas as it operates in many different jurisdictions. Legal advice is sought and legal fees incurred typically in relation to country specific property matters (mainly lease reviews and negotiations, as well as construction/fit out and associated professional services contract reviews) and human resource matters. Legal systems differ widely across jurisdictions with complex local lease, construction, property, and labour law structures. Given the nature of the Department’s requirement for legal advice (often project specific and time bound), it does not make use of capped fee arrangements, fixed-fee briefs or success-based fee models.

The relevant Embassy or Consulate run the procurement process in line with procurement guidelines. Selection criteria for legal advice is focused to ensure value for money, confirming license to practice and expertise in relation to the subject matter area in question. The Department’s Property Management Unit in headquarters oversees all legal advice in relation to property matters and the Department's Human Resource unit in headquarters monitors all human resource related advice.

The Department actively manages all contracts, including contracts for legal advice, in line with public procurement guidelines. Budget holders monitor the service provision and the rates charged to ensure value for money. The Department has not conducted any audits or reviews in the past five years on legal fee spend.

The total spend by the Department on external legal services in each of the past three years is:

2022 – €305,316

2023 – €575,307

2024 – €1,007,319

The Department has formal monthly budget monitoring processes in place. This budget holder reviews all expenditure incurred versus budget, including legal service contracts. These are managed and monitored by local managers and overall budgetary oversight is managed by the Department’s finance units in headquarters in Ireland.

The Department operates under two Votes: Vote 27 – International Co-operation and Vote 28 – the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. There are no bodies under the aegis of the Department.