Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

653. To ask the Minister for Finance 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. [41503/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I wish to advise the Deputy in cases where specialist legal advice is required from private sector law firms, in 2022 my Department established a panel of legal firms to provide those services on foot of an open public procurement competition run under procurement rules and published on OJEU. This panel was put in place for four years.

The fees charged by those firms are governed by that tender process. During subsequent Requests for Tender (RfTs) issued to the panel, these firms may propose lower (but not higher) fee rates. The panel has been used on one occasion since 2022. The criteria for selection is based on the most economically advantageous principle and performance review, duration, scope, and fees are provided for in the contracts entered into with each successful tenderer. All fees charged on foot of that procurement are reviewed by internal lawyers to ensure that they are fair and reasonable before they are discharged.

The bodies under the aegis of my Department have provided the information below.

Central Bank of Ireland

The Central Bank endeavours to manage costs in an effective manner. The organisation operates a Corporate Procurement Policy that is subject to external approval by the Central Bank Commission. Its procurement requirements are conducted in line with the policy and the internal governance framework that has been established, to comply with all European and national law and guidelines.

The Central Bank has in place a number of Framework Agreements with individual legal service providers which were awarded on foot of a public procurement procedure undertaken in 2020/21. Where it requires legal services, the Bank can procure those services by awarding a call-off contract to one of the Framework members. On occasion, it may require legal services from a service provider who is not a Framework Member, where satisfied that that service provider is the most appropriate in the circumstances.

The process for establishing this Framework was by means of an open Invitation to Tender (ITT) advertised through the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), under which tenders were invited from legal service providers for admission to the Framework. Tender submissions were evaluated in accordance with the award criteria, which included quality of the proposed team, management of services, added value services, and price.

The added value services criterion required firms to submit proposals on relevant training and practice updates which would be offered free of charge. The pricing criterion required the submission of proposed hourly rates at various grades which would apply for any contracts awarded from the Framework, as well as proposed volume discounts to be calculated on an aggregated basis per annum. Based on these criteria, the tenders were ranked from highest to lowest, with the highest ranking tenders offered a place on the Framework. In this way, the Central Bank ensured that the Framework comprises legal service providers with experience relevant to its requirements who offer the best value for money with regard to their fee rates, volume discounts and value added services.

With regard to the monitoring of fees, the ITT outlined the Central Bank’s requirements for billing, as well as for regular reporting of accrued fees and costs. All fees, outlay and expenses must be explained in detail, with all fee notes to be submitted in draft format in the first instance with detailed time narratives for review by the Bank prior to submitting the final fee note for payment.

Credit Review

Credit Review has no regular legal fees, no negotiated rates and on occasion when it may need legal advice, it benchmarks from Enterprise Ireland.

Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO)

All legal services fees and rates are set out in contracts. In advance of requesting/drawing down services, the FSPO asks for an estimate of costs for the work. Contract managers are responsible for ensuring the rates are correct, and pre-invoicing costs must be signed off in advance of invoices being issued. This is in addition to the FSPO’s standard contract management and financial controls.

Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI)

Rates for legal services are the subject of competitive processes. HBFI currently has three multi-firm frameworks in place with hourly fees fixed for the duration of the respective frameworks. Where the legal services relate to lending transactions, a competitive call-off process is undertaken in accordance with the framework agreement. Before invoices for legal fees are finalised and approved for payment, the law firms are requested to submit draft invoices and the rates referenced in those draft invoices are checked to ensure that the correct fees for the applicable engagement have been applied.

Investor Compensation Company DAC (ICCL)

The ICCL’s retained legal advisers charge for their services at discounted rates that have been subject to prior negotiation. All invoices received are examined to ensure that the fees sought have been charged at pre-agreed rates/amounts before approval.

Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal

The Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal has only incurred legal fees for a single judicial review in the past several years, which went all the way to the Supreme Court. The solicitor engaged by the Tribunal provided a s.150 Notice in advance of the litigation, and a s.152 Bill of Costs on conclusion of each stage of the proceedings, with a detailed breakdown of work done and also itemised fee notes from Counsel engaged for the litigation. The fees were modestly discounted by agreement from the full amount reflected in the detailed bill of costs. The Registrar reviewed the Bill of Costs to ensure compliance with the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015.

National Asset Management Agency (NAMA)

NAMA has established tendered panels of law firms for various legal specialities. Competing on hourly rates formed part of the competitive process. NAMA has a Central Contracts Management System where part of its function is to track the spend/budget associated with the particular contract. All tenders and budgets require the sign-off by senior management and Head of Procurement to ensure compliance.

National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA)

In the performance of its range of mandates, the NTMA avails of legal services in a number of jurisdictions. Rates for legal services are typically the subject of competitive processes; the NTMA’s current framework of Irish law firms, comprising five panels (with each panel comprising multiple law firms with particular expertise in distinct practice areas), was established in 2024 pursuant to a competitive tender process. The hourly rates for legal services instructed under such framework panels are fixed for the five-year duration of the framework (subject to indexation after year three).

In certain instances where conducting a competitive process may not be practicable (e.g. for legal services relating to litigation), rates would typically be directly negotiated. Before invoices for legal fees are finalised and approved for payment, the law firms are requested to submit draft invoices and the rates referenced in those draft invoices are checked to ensure that the correct rates for the applicable engagement have been applied.

The NTMA provides support services to the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, including legal services.

Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General

External legal fees incurred by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General are charged at the rates agreed in a contract procured under the Office of Government Procurement framework for the provision of legal services to public sector bodies. The rates charged are monitored through review and approval of invoices and fee breakdown prior to payment.

Office of the Revenue Commissioners

I am advised by the Revenue that two of its Divisions have responsibility for managing external legal fees.

The Revenue Solicitor’s Division instructs Junior Counsel and Senior Counsel to carry out legal services in certain cases. Fees marked by Counsel for this work are reviewed and assessed and then approved by the Revenue Solicitor to ensure that they are in line with market norms, represent value for money and are objectively justifiable for the services provided and the work carried out. All individual brief fees marked by Counsel in excess of €10,000 require the prior approval of the Attorney General’s Office and sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. In certain instances where appropriate, Counsels’ fees are agreed in advance at a set rate prior to their engagement. Fees are paid to individual barristers upon verification that their tax-clearance certificate is in order.

The Collector General’s Division is responsible for the collection of taxes. With regard to the framework of external solicitors for debt management and enforcement (six Revenue contracted solicitor firms), the fees are set out as part of the solicitor tender framework which is enshrined in the contract for services with each of the external solicitors. The fees are invoiced for and monitored on a monthly basis by the Collector General’s Division, where the invoices are cross referenced against details of referrals on Revenue Systems and the contract specifications. In limited instances, there may be a requirement for the Collector General’s Division to engage a solicitor firm who is not one of the six contracted solicitor firms for ad hoc / specialised advice. In these instances, fees are negotiated with the Collector General’s Division to obtain the best value for money based on the scoped-out work required.

Tax Appeals Commission (TAC)

The TAC procured its legal services via a competition hosted and assisted by the Office of Government Procurement. The selected legal provider charges the TAC at significant discounted rates. The TAC also checks that all legal expenses are in compliance with the discounted rates and are value for money. This is demonstrated to the Comptroller and Auditor General each year.