The Health Service Executive has declined a freedom of information request for data on fee payments to solicitors Arthur Cox, the HSE corporate legal adviser which is acting for Japan Tobacco in a High Court action against plain cigarette packs.

The HSE, which questioned Arthur Cox about Japan Tobacco’s legal manoeuvres when they were made public in February, refused the FoI request based on the “commercially sensitive” nature of the records.

In sum, the HSE said the release of the data in question could interfere with future tendering processes into which it may wish to enter.

All very well, you might think, except that fees the legal firm receives from numerous other public bodies are already in the public domain.

Indeed, responses to parliamentary questions from Fianna Fáil TD Billy Kelleher (pictured) last month showed that an assortment of Government departments and State bodies have paid more than €16 million in fees to Arthur Cox between 2011 and 2014.

The Department of Finance paid more than €6.8 million to the firm, the National Asset Management Agency paid €5.32 million, the Central Bank paid between €3 million and €5 million and the Revenue Commissioners paid slightly in excess of €190,000.

Nice work, eh.