Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 July 2025
797. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation 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. [41527/25]
View answer798. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation 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. [41545/25]
View answer799. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation 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. [41563/25]
View answer800. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation 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. [41581/25]
View answer801. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation 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. [41599/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 797, 798, 799, 800 and 801 together.
The Department engages with the Attorney General’s Office and the Chief State Solicitors Office for strategic legal advice on constitutional and legislative matters, and they provide legal representation in litigation. Additionally, the Department has a legal advisor seconded from the Attorney Generals office who provides legislative and internal legal advice. This helps ensure legal costs to the Department are kept to a minimum. Where there is a minor issue related to areas such as individual HR advice, pensions advice or other specific advices the Department will utilise external legal advice who can provide case specific advice for relatively low cost. All legal expenditure is competitively procured using the Department's procurement policy and in line with Government circulars to ensure value for money. Given the relatively low legal spend there has not been a requirement to create panels. The Departments accounts, including expenditure, are audited on an annual basis by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and any significant changes to legal costs would be identified as part of internal monthly reporting and the annual Estimates process.
