The Labour leader asked if "an old boys' network" was operating in the commissioning of outside legal advice by the Office of the Attorney General.

Mr Ruairi Quinn was responding to the Taoiseach, who said external legal advice was sought as a matter of routine by the AG's office, including the Office of the Chief State Solicitor. This year's provision for fees to counsel and general law expenses was £8.38 million, and expenditure to date amounted to £7.438 million. Next year's provision was £12.24 million, Mr Ahern added.

He said that the expenditure encompassed the full range of legal services involving both civil and criminal cases. Given the number and range of cases, it was not readily possible to isolate the amounts paid for advice only.

Mr Quinn questioned whether in this day and age the idea that this sum of money could be dispensed by an Attorney General of whatever persuasion - and they did have persuasions - was an acceptable practice, and that they were not accountable to some tendering procedure or some form of accountability. "The sums of money are absolutely staggering."

He said the costs were not incurred by the DPP's office. "These are directly at the giving of the Attorney General of the day, whoever he or she may be. Can I ask the Taoiseach if he finds that practice unacceptable now, as I certainly do?"

Mr Quinn asked the Taoiseach if he had sought a breakdown of the cost of various kinds of legal advice, if there was a pattern, "and if there is an old boys' network - and it is predominantly boys - in operation here".

Mr Ahern said he had looked at the issue of tendering, but the view was that legal advice was sought as a matter of routine by the AG's office and was not a planned process. It was not possible to have tendering when that office, and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor, were seeking specialist areas of law.

It was impossible to predict when such needs would arise and the State must be in a position to respond at short notice. That was the reason given why a tendering process was not followed. It was not practical, said Mr Ahern.

"In areas where it is planned, I think they are prepared to look at it, not with great enthusiasm, I want to say to the deputy."

When the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, said the projected increase in the cost of legal advice was in the order of 50 per cent, the Taoiseach said the reason was that there was a huge network set up in the Office of the Chief State Solicitor dealing with Army deafness cases.

There were about 12,000 cases in the office, and about 40 or 50 staff were involved full-time in dealing with them.