Alan Kelly
Question:580. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the amount his Department has spent on legal fees for each of the years 2020-2025, in tabular form. [5532/26]
View answerTuesday, 27 January 2026
Questions (580)
Written answers
My Department has two internal Legal Advisors seconded from the Office of the Attorney General, with additional support from that office as required.
Details of any compensation and legal costs are published in the annual Appropriation Account for the Department which is audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General and published on their website here: [www.audit.gov.ie/en/publications/appropriation%20accounts/]
From time to time it may be necessary to engage external legal support and this is done subject to public procurement procedures as set out by the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. These are available on the website of the Office of Government Procurement.
It should be noted that my Department was re-configured as the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport at the beginning of June 2025. The previous configuration of my Department, as the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, was established in September 2020. The details sought by the Deputy in the period since September 2020 to 2025 for the current functions under the remit of my Department are set out below.
|
Year |
External Legal Service Provider |
Details of Service Provided |
Total Cost (incl. VAT) |
|
2020 |
William Fry |
Legal advisory services in support of the National Broadband Plan |
€253,029 |
|
2021 |
Mason, Hayes & Curran |
Eircode - Legal advice regarding licencing agreements |
€15,375 |
|
2021 |
William Fry |
Legal advisory services in support of the National Broadband Plan |
€846,433 |
|
2022 |
William Fry |
Legal advisory services in support of the National Broadband Plan |
€1,296,819 |
|
2022 |
Mason, Hayes & Curran |
Provision of Operational Management Advisory Services for the National Postcode System |
€88,156 |
|
2022 |
Mr Jack Hazlett |
External drafting for the transposition of the European Electronic Communications Code |
€2,600 |
|
2023 |
Mr Jack Hazlett |
External drafting for the transposition of the European Electronic Communications Code |
€400 |
|
2023 |
Mason, Hayes & Curran |
Eircode - Legal advice on contracts |
€65,347 |
|
2023 |
McCann Fitzgerald |
To (i) advise the Expert Advisory Committees (EACs) appointed by the Minister to carry out independent reviews of RTÉ of any legal risks arising to the members of the EACs in respect of the conduct of the reviews and (ii) to review draft reports prepared by the EACs prior to their submission and advise of any legal risks arising. |
€19,455 |
|
2023 |
William Fry |
Legal advisory services in support of the National Broadband Plan |
€1,035,453 |
|
2024 |
ByrneWallace |
Employment law advices |
€2,078 |
|
2024 |
Mason, Hayes & Curran |
Provision of legal advisory services for the award of an agreement to operate, manage and maintain the Emergency Call Answering Service (ECAS) |
€265,200 |
|
2024 |
McCann Fitzgerald |
To (i) advise the Expert Advisory Committees (EACs) appointed by the Minister to carry out independent reviews of RTÉ of any legal risks arising to the members of the EACs in respect of the conduct of the reviews and (ii) to review draft reports prepared by the EACs prior to their submission and advise of any legal risks arising. |
€74,450 |
|
2024 |
William Fry |
Legal advisory services in support of the National Broadband Plan |
€255,099 |
|
2024 |
William Fry |
Legal advisory services in support of the Digital Connectivity Office |
€445,800 |
|
2025 |
William Fry |
Legal advisory services in support of the Digital Connectivity Office |
€618,911 |
|
2025 |
Mason, Hayes & Curran |
Provision of legal advisory services for the award of an agreement to operate, manage and maintain the Emergency Call Answering Service (ECAS) |
€190,397 |
|
2025 |
McCann Fitzgerald |
Legal Advisors to the Expert Advisory Committee appointed by the Minister to carry out an independent review of the governance and organisational culture of the Arts Council |
€34,536 |