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

3438. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 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 she will provide a breakdown by case or category; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40841/25]

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

3440. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 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. [40886/25]

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

3447. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 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. [41510/25]

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

3448. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 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. [41528/25]

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

3449. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 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. [41546/25]

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

3450. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 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. [41564/25]

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

3451. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 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. [41582/25]

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

3452. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 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. [41600/25]

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

3453. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 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. [41618/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 3438, 3440 and 3447 to 3453, inclusive, together.

My Department has been assigned a designated point of contact for the provision of legal advice through the Office of the Attorney General. This service provides for the vast majority of our ongoing requirements with regard to legal advice. As such, external legal services have only been utilised on a small number of occasions. Over the period 2022 – 2024, total expenditure related to legal costs amounted to €185,551. The requested breakdown of costs is provided in the table below. This information includes both external legal services costs and costs incurred for services provided by the State Claims Agency. Given the limited use of external legal services my Department has not carried out a review of expenditure on these legal costs.

With regard to agencies of the Department, there are 8 agencies under the remit of my Department. These agencies are independent legal entities responsible for managing their own corporate affairs, including the use of legal services, in compliance with statutory obligations and the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies. I would note that information on legal costs are included in the financial statements of the agencies, in line with the Code of Practice. Notwithstanding this, the table below also details the information requested for each agency.