Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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654. To ask the Minister for Finance 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. [41521/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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A significant proportion of legal services provided to my Department are obtained without fees from the Office of the Attorney General and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office. Where barristers are engaged those offices have processes in place to ensure that the fees charged by counsel are fair and reasonable before they meet them.

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. In response to Requests for Tender (RfTs) issued to the panel, these firms may propose lower (but not higher) fee rates.

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

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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655. To ask the Minister for Finance 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. [41539/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Most of our legal advices are obtained without fees from the Office of the Attorney General and the Chief State Solicitors Office.

My department procures goods and services in line with Irish and EU rules and guidelines. These rules and guidelines provide for the procedures that must be followed at each relevant threshold level.

For limited legal advices, the Department established a panel in 2022 following an open competition run under procurement rules and published on the Official Journal of the European Union. This panel was put in place for four years. The panel has been used on one occasion since 2022. The criteria for engagement is per Request for Tender and based on the most economically advantageous principle. Performance review is provided for in the contracts entered into with each successful tenderer.