Question
167. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the total amount spent externally by her Department on legal advice for each year since 2015; the solicitor firms involved; the barristers, junior and senior, who provided services to her Department for each such year; the amounts paid to each firm or person; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14136/17]
Answer
Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Frances Fitzgerald): The information requested by the Deputy is outlined in the following table.
| Year | Name of Practitioner | Total amount paid in euro |
| 2015 | McCarter and English LLP | 2,931 |
| 2015 | Margaret O'Driscoll, BL | 7,955 |
| 2015 | Lucy McRoberts, BL | 7,995 |
| 2015 | Emma Doyle, BL | 4,307 |
| 2015 | Sinead Drennan BL | 4,612 |
| 2015 | McDowell Purcell | 34,809 |
| 2015 | Dominic McGinn | 92,250 |
| 2015 | Conor Devally SC | 47,047 |
| 2015 | Jim Benson | 9,471 |
| 2015 | John Fitzgerald JC | 21,709 |
| 2015 | Karen O'Connor | 7,872 |
| 2015 | Lisa Daly BL | 1,627 |
| 2015 | Paul Greene | 29,520 |
| 2015 | Paul Carroll JC | 21,525 |
| 2015 | Siobhan Ni Chulachain | 25,461 |
| 2016 | Conor Devally SC | 19,126 |
| 2016 | John Fitzgerald JC | 1,968 |
| 2015* |  |
39,520 |
| 2016* | |
26,368 |
| 2017* | |
3,075 |
*I can advise that the following amounts have been paid by this Department to solicitors who provided legal advice to eligible applicants to the Magdalen Restorative Justice Ex-gratia scheme. All eligible applicants are required to sign a form of acceptance and a waiver before payment issues and they are encouraged to seek legal advice before signing. The total amounts paid per year from 2015 to date are included in the table. As over 600 files are involved in this scheme, it would take an inordinate amount of time to identify the solicitor involved in each particular case.