Alan Kelly
Question:470. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Education and Youth the amount her Department has spent on legal fees for each of the years 2020-2025, in tabular form. [5534/26]
View answerTuesday, 27 January 2026
Questions (470)
Written answers
The expenditure incurred by my Department in respect of legal fees during the years in question is as follows:
|
Year |
Amount |
|
2020 |
€2,836,000 |
|
2021 |
€7,632,000 |
|
2022 |
€8,303,000 |
|
2023 |
€6,678,000 |
|
2024 |
€4,044,000 |
Legal fees set out in the table above include:
• the Department's own legal costs in defending claims taken against it;
• Payments made by the Department in respect of damages ordered by a court, or sums agreed as part of a settlement upon legal advice;
• Amounts paid by the Department to cover the legal costs of the other party where ordered by a court, or agreed as part of a settlement upon legal advice; and
• Ancillary costs related to the legal action e.g. medical reports, swearing of affidavits etc.
Please note the 2025 figure is not yet available as it is being compiled as part of the process of doing the 2025 Appropriation Account for the Department.