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Updated 8.15pm
THE DEPARTMENT OF Finance has spent over €5 million on legal advice related to the bank guarantee scheme since 2011, according to recently-released figures.
In total some €5,080,053 has been paid to the legal firm Arthur Cox since 2011 for advice solely relating to the bank guarantee scheme which was officially ended in March this year.
The scheme has proved hugely controversial having effectively saddled the Irish taxpayer with over €64.1 billion of debt when the Fianna Fáil-led government took the unprecedented decision guarantee all assets and liabilities of Irish banks in September 2008.
Following a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil’s Niall Collins, Finance Minister Michael Noonan has disclosed that in 2011 his department spent €1,169,614 spent with Arthur Cox for legal advice with that figure more than doubling to €2,929,427 in 2012.
So far this year, the government has paid the firm €981,012 for advice relating to the bank guarantee scheme.
The advice comes in addition to that provided by the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor but Noonan said in his written answer: “However, it [the Department] also uses outside legal advisors in circumstances requiring legal services of a specific nature.”
Arthur Cox is Ireland’s largest finance practice and says on its website: “We are consistently at the forefront of many banking law developments including most recently the State Bank Guarantee.”
In addition to the legal fees paid to Arthur Cox, the Departmnet also spent over €960,000 with Matheson for “advice on transactions undertaken by the Minister in relation to Irish Life”.
Irish Life was recently sold to Canadian company Great-West Lifeco for €1.3 billion in February.
Thousands of euro was also paid out to barristers between 2011 and this year.
Barristers David Lennon and Garret Byrne earned €6,939 and €7,638 respectively in 2011 for a discovery report related to the Nyberg Commission inquiry into the collapse of the Irish banking system.
Senior counsel David Barniville and Niamh Hyland received €36,402 and €24,657 respectively for their advice related to the Credit Institutions Stabilisation Act.
This was the legislation which gave wide-ranging powers to the Minister for Finance in relation to the banks. Among other things it gave Brian Lenihan discretion to create the now defunct promissory note arrangement.
First published 2.40pm
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Wow, I can only imagine what we would have paid for good advice.
..expensive advice at a time when we are all cutting back & taking hits..
Well said Roger.
€5 million given to these gravy train boys that probably advised Ireland into this bust in the first place.
Isn’t just a sick coincidence that Arthur Cox and Matheson are the same LEGAL firms sending out 1000′s repossession/eviction demands to families that were sucked dry to pay their over-inflated greedy fees.
The advice was consistent. Do not blanket guarantee the banks. The response from FF at the time to advisers in the DOF, the IMF and Price Waterhouse was for all three to swing their mickeys.
Ango Irish bank and the developers who used it needed FF’s help and Micheal McGrath, Micheal Martin, Lenihan and Cowen etc were not going to let them down. No matter the cost to the Irish.
every is sick of paying for this fcuking big club ,when will the fcuking people wake up,
And whilst that seems to be the case, it begs tge question why the truth has yet to emerge. Enda could destroy FF with a verified truth. Labour would benefit also. Why not so?
Declan, the guarantee advise clearly came from somewhere. I have yet to see any documents that clear the financial institutions involved.
The fact that the same institutions still suck on the States teat is truely galling.
Accountability, credibility, professionalism, all terms alien to the current setup.
You doff your cap all you want, I want answers.
If FG release the full facts on the last Govt. they will destroy Fianna Fáil as a party and make it a by word for treason and criminality for a generation. Much of FF’s leading members for 20 years would end up in jail and the membership would be despised.
That would mean reordering the status quo and while FG hate FF, they love the little closed shop that the state is. They are placing self interest over national interest.
Hah, jobs for the boys. Why wasn’t this money spent trying to get OUT of Biffo/Lenihan’s anti-democratic, unjust, illogical and plain feckin stupid prom night.
because Biffo/ Lenihan’s plan was to save friends and donors of FF no matter the cost. This was just another opportunity for the party to transfer tax payers wealth to friends and party members.
Cancer is the only way to describe how that party and its members operate.
So why hasn’t FG got this verified formally?
This story is disgusting. Criminal waste of our money. No wonder people are being forced to do without essential services. How much more of this reckless and useless spending is going on? It stinks!
Great story Hugh.
Now we know who not to seek legal and financial advice from (should us mere mortals ever afford it)
Well it was a bunch of cox that got us in to the mess
Was it the same bunch of cox who tied us into the promissory note fiasco?
Not surprised any more, its just one large game of Monopoly.
Who makes the money…….tribunals=solicitors and barristers…..Gov.advice=solicitors and barristers…………Free legal aid=solicitors and barristers……..High Court Cases=.solicitors and barristers…..Banking Inquiry=solicitors and barristers………….Lets face it plebs we are been taken for a ride day in day out.jobs for the boys,countries a joke except no one is laughing.
Well said Shane
€5,080,053 spent on Arthur Cox. The same Arthur Cox that was the only third party used by the government in IBRC legislation. The same Arthur Cox who represents IBRC in court on a regular basis, but “luckily” for them they did not represent IBRC at all in 2013 in the run up to the IBRC liquidation, thus saving themselves from becoming unsecured creditors and working for nothing. Conflict of interest??
Shame on them all in the dail , the 4 courts it must be the richest gold mine in the world what it cost for legal fees and Free legal aid for all the crimes my god I wish I could say I love my country but with all the gobsh..s running it god help us all
Its always the same with the legal profession.One just has to look at the cost of The Mahon Tribunal. Socilicitors are very expensive.As we all know.
It was a time of blind panic and making decisions in that state of mind is usually fatal! Us poor paddys
You would imagine that the Attorney Generals office would be able to supply the government with all necessary advice. I mean, is that not what we pay them for?
Us poor Paddys.
What pathetic self pitying rubbish. Man up.
This decision was a clearly thought out one and has been shown and shown again to have been planned over weeks as testified to by a cabinet minister.
The poor paddy routine is that people accept the unacceptable here because of self loathing and lack of self respect.
How depressingly predictable the previous comments are. When we’re talking about decisions revolving around Billions of Euro and the viability of the Irish State just what sort of costs did ye expect would be accrued around legal decision making? Perhaps we could have got one of those nice Ambulance chasing law firms who advertise on daytime TV to give us counsel? They operate on a no win:no fee basis, don’t they? You absolute clowns. One legal misstep could cost the Irish state billions.
Sorry to remind you Egg Mcmuffin but it was a LEGAL step that cost us billions of euro. It was because it was an ill thought out decision that the consequent legal consultations were instigated.
The world and its mother knows that legal fees in this country are disgracefully high.
Is it too much to question a bill?
They’re also obliged to provide a breakdown of the bill if asked.
I want to know where the money went, don’t you.
Howya Enda.
Egg McMuffin obviously an “Inda” follower calling everyone clowns.. Kettle……Pot?
Agree. Egg MacMuffin. How about using your real name, if you’re going to make disparaging comments abut other contributors?
Not many ambulance chasers in Ireland Egg.
Ireland’s “legal” “professionals” are too busy advising the country into booms and busts on the taxpayer’s dime.
Filthy troughdwellers!!
Can’t wait to hear the Arthur Cox tapes.
Are you trying to say that justice is only available to those who can afford it in Ireland Egg?
John- Sorry to remind you but it was actually the recklessness of successive Fianna Fáil Governments in generating an uncontrolled property bubble, fuelled by unsustainable debt that actually cost us billions. The legal culmination of which resulted only in the state having to stand over this debt. But hey, lets go your way and just blame the present Government, eh? Much more satisfying. Just checking “Lawyers4U” in the Golden Pages, I’m sure they can get us out if this mess.
Little Jim- it’s fine to question a bill. If your assessment is based in realism rather than a blinkered hatred of “the Government”. When its griping for the sake of griping, though..,
Ryan- how come you’re still here? You said you were leaving Ireland. You called it a dump, remember? So again- why are you here?
Johnny- because your one follower Twitter account suggests you’re using your own name, doesn’t it? Always the same- those with nothing of substance to say are the first to try and distract. Why not address what I said instead of who said it, Chief? Is it because you can’t?
Gathering- No. I’m saying nothing more than it is wholly understandable that our Government should seek the very best legal counsel on an issue of such national importance. It actually seems quite a modest figure to me, given what you rightly point out are the excesses of the legal profession.
well the injuries lawyers for you probably could have given us better advice and for less than what those muppets gave, and yeah egg were talking about billions of euros but the clowns that night were playing russian roulette economically with every man, woman and child along with future generations…………..and what has the advice done for the country…………saved the bankers, saved the bondholders and here is the science bit………..screwed the ordinary folk
Tom- I don’t necessarily agree with anything you said. Different Government now.
If we had a breakdown of the bill our assessment would be based on reality.
I don’t hate anyone, I’m sick of the tribal finger pointing.
It just obscures the facts.
Why employ advisers and then pay vast sums of money to outside interests for the same advice.
It doesn’t make sense and looks dodgy.
McMuffin. There you go again. More bluster and disparagement. Didn’t even know I had one follower. I don’t use twitter. It’s just for use here. Didn’t know it was necessary to have “followers” just to express one’s opinion.
So €5 million is a “modest figure” figure for a bit of paper shuffling and nodding Egg??
Gathering- Yes, it is modest when you consider the issue at hand. Contrast it with the Tribunal legal costs.
@ Egg.. Was it not this government who had another late night gathering to rush through the IRBC bill? Thus legalizing FF’s prom note and strapping it to the people’s backs for generations. All done in haste to circumvent the Hall case reaching the Supreme Court. And Noonan later admitting that these prom notes were illegal.
Nice one Niall Collins !! Questioning how much Fianna Fail cost the taxpayer…….
they are just laughing at the tax payer.
One word…. joke
Every irish citizen is a fool for putting up with this stupid government
There’s only one sound on those tape it’s laughing all the way to the bank?.
What I’d love to know about all this money that’s being spent is how the hell these people come up with these crazy prices…
Good question Andrew,and no offence intended…but like the anglo tapes i’d say they “plucked it out of their a#se” and we will accept it like everything else.
I have letters from Arthur Cox that proves themselves pure liars. Government departments in bed with criminal banks and their counterparts in the legal fraternity. Anyone surprised?
FF FG & Lab the same but in name.
Well someone has to keep the elite in the lifestyle them and there families are a customised to. Even if there is a recession and the rest of us are paying for it. They have no shame. We better keep paying our taxes these guys will be planning there next big hoilday.
It’s coming to an end shortly the gates of hell have already opened for all these guys they’ll be wishing they had never been born
FF asking questions about wasting state money by FG/LAB. Thank God I vote SF. A bunch of Self serving parasites the Troika of FF/FG/LAB!
Purely disgusting!
Hi Egg, As you only refuted one comment I’ll have to assume that you concede to the rest.
I’m so sick of “all talk, no action” politics.
We want accountability, simple as.
If changes to the constitution are needed, bring it on. We’ve had multiple referendums on lesser issues.
Enough is enough.
as i heard the government dont care about the people outside and that came from someone who works there
have your say