Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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658. To ask the Minister for Finance 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. [41593/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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659. To ask the Minister for Finance 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. [41611/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 658 and 659 together.

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. 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 is 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.