News
Galway City Council’s €1.5m legal work not put out to tender
Galway City Council is forking out hundreds of thousands of Euro every year on legal fees – but it isn’t putting the work out to tender.
The Sentinel can reveal that over the past three years more than €1.5 million was spent by the local authority for fees for barristers and solicitors.
Last year, a little over €400,000 was spent on legal costs, almost double the previous year.
The local authority has this week been urged to go to tender for legal services to secure reductions on the rates it’s paying the legal profession.
Labour Party City Councillor, Níall McNelis has also demanded that City Hall officials ‘shop around’ to get the best value for money for legal fees.
The Council paid a total of €408,184 on legal fees in 2013. That included some €71,525 for barristers and senior counsel and €336,658 for solicitors and other legal services.
The cost in 2013 rose significantly compared with the previous year, in 2012, when €256,537 was spent on legal fees by City Council, including €46,266 on barristers and €210,270 on solicitors.
The year-on-year percentage increase was 37% but legal costs were far higher in 2011 when almost €1 million was spent on legal eagles.
In 2011, the City Council spent €904,539 on legal services, including €736,924 on solicitors and €167,615 on barristers.
The figures were confirmed by Head of Finance Edel McCormack who also confirmed “Galway City Council has not tendered for legal services in recent years”.
Cllr McNelis said solicitors and barristers are needed by the Council every year but he said it was shocking that the local authority hasn’t put the work out to tender.
“This isn’t me having a go at the legal profession, this is about Galway City Council obtaining value for money,” he said.
Cllr McNelis added: “Not only does European Union law and Irish law require that legal services be tendered for, it just makes common sense for the city to shop around to get value for money.”
Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel