THE HSE has just one in-house lawyer dealing with childcare matters and has paid outside solicitors more than €21 million to deal with childcare issues over the past three years.
The figures, given to the Oireachtas health committee yesterday, do not include counsel fees or third-party costs.
In 2009, 17 firms of solicitors around the State were engaged by the HSE to deal with childcare cases.
In that year about 1,792 childcare applications were brought before the District Court by the HSE.
The figures had been sought by the Fine Gael TD Charles Flanagan who said he was concerned about the manner in which the tendering process for legal services was operated by the HSE as well as how few firms were involved in the tender invitation process.
Brian Gilroy of the HSE told the meeting it was hoped a national tender on legal services would go to the HSE board at its December meeting.
The Government’s four-year national recovery plan published on Wednesday noted that the cost of legal services here remained high and that “a package of measures to reduce legal costs will be implemented”.
Meanwhile other data provided at the committee to Senator Phil Prendergast indicates the HSE spent €3.7 million on outside consultancy fees in the first six months of this year.
This included: €2 million to the ESRI for its hospital inpatient inquiry and perinatal reporting system; more than €400,000 to PA Consulting for reports, including one related to the new national children’s hospital; €101,000 to PricewaterhouseCoopers, as well as payments to two former advisers to Prof Brendan Drumm.
These included outlays of €90,000 to Karl Anderson and €103,000 to Maureen Lynott.