Paul Gallagher appointed as Attorney General for a second time

Senior Counsel Paul Gallagher will serve as Attorney General to a Fianna Fáil-led Government for the second time as part of the new coalition.

The Tralee barrister will serve in the role until December 2022 when Fine Gael will have an opportunity to nominate a replacement at the same time Tánaiste Leo Varadkar replaces Micheál Martin as Taoiseach.

Mr Gallagher first served as legal adviser to the Government in 2007 when he was appointed by then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

Unusually for an attorney general, he had no explicit political associations prior to his appointment.

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Much of his first term was dominated with the economic collapse and legal issues surrounding the bank guarantee and the arrival of the Troika. Mr Gallagher returned to private practice in 2011 with the election of a Fine Gael led Government.

He is regarded as one of the leading barristers in the country and has represented the State in several high profile actions, including its response to the EU ruling that Apple must pay the exchequer €13 billion in taxes.

Mr Gallagher also represented the Oireachtas in a High Court case taken by former Rehab chief executive Angela Kerins who claimed she had been improperly questioned by the Public Accounts Committee.