THE HEALTH Service Executive (HSE) spent €2.4 million on counsel fees in the last three years in relation to childcare cases in Dublin and the surrounding area.
The figure includes €302,323 spent on senior counsel in the District Court, where senior counsel normally rarely appear.
Six barristers shared over 70 per cent of the expenditure, with the balance shared among 50 others. The fees included €385,029 spent on solicitors and counsel for “third-party” fees, that is, for guardians ad litem (GALs), who represent the interests of the child in childcare proceedings.
The information was released to The Irish Timesunder the Freedom of Information Act, and covers Dublin southeast, Dublin south city, Dublin west, Dublin southwest, Dún Laoghaire, Wicklow and Laois-Offaly.
The highest earner was Felix McEnroy SC, who earned €598,747 between 2007 and 2009. The next highest was Mary Phelan BL, who earned €377,408 over the three years, followed by Barry O’Donnell BL, who earned €271,054, Carmel Stewart SC, who earned €264,144, much of it in 2006, and including €14,411 for representing GALs.
Lana Fitzsimons BL earned €185,020 and Shane Costello BL €159,094, mainly for GALs. Together they accounted for over 70 per cent of the expenditure on fees.
Four solicitors, representing third parties, are included, and the HSE noted that some counsel for GALs are paid through solicitors.
Counsel fees are divided fairly evenly between the District Court, where most care orders are made, and the High Court, which hears more complex cases and those involving the detention of at-risk children. Counsel fees in the District Court over the three years were €1,183,956 and those in the High Court were €1,222,980.
A noticeable feature of the figures is the amount of money spent on senior counsel in the District Court. A note from the HSE stated that fee notes did not always specify the court, and where they did not they were entered against the District Court.
According to the figures provided between 2006 and 2009, the HSE spent €302,323 on fees for senior counsel in the District Court, mainly to Felix McEnroy SC, who earned €209,985 for appearing in the District Court in childcare matters.
The area which spent most on counsel in child care matters was Dún Laoghaire, which spent €569,681 since 2006. Full figures are not available for the number of cases involving childcare orders in all the individual areas for which the HSE provided figures, but according to the Courts Service 250 care orders were issued in the District Court in Dublin, Dún Laoghaire and Wicklow in 2008 and in 2009 the figure was 130.
The figures cover the years 2007 to 2009. The HSE said information prior to 2006 was difficult to retrieve and it provided partial figures for this year of €179,754.