Attorney General’s ‘quite incredible situation’ criticised in Dáil

Questions have been raised again in the Dáil about the Attorney General (AG) Paul Gallagher’s “quite incredible situation” of engaging in private litigation work while serving as the State’s most senior legal adviser.

Mr Gallagher had the Government’s permission to carry out some private legal work still outstanding when he took on the role of Attorney General.

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said answers were needed from Government about the "quite incredible situation of the Attorney General effectively double jobbing, being the legal adviser to Government during week while on weekend doing what appears to be a nixer for INM directors".

He said “this is the same Attorney General who provided legal advice against a ban on evictions and rent increases without following the legal requirement to submit in writing a declaration for potential conflict of interest given that he has a property portfolio estimated to be worth up to €8.5 million”.

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Mr Murphy said “we know that the Attorney General was doing work for the INM directors just days before the Government said his private work had ceased”.

Full list

The Dublin South West TD called for a full list to be issued of all the private practice Mr Gallagher engaged in while Attorney General and asked on what basis the Government agreed to the arrangement.

Replying for the Government Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney confirmed that Mr Gallagher has no continuing private professional obligations.

Mr Coveney said the last of these commitments “was scheduled to cease and did in fact cease on 25th September when he had discharged the last of his private professional obligations”.

Prior to appointment in 2020 he told the Taoiseach “that he had a few existing litigation commitments to complete which he considered he had a professional obligation to discharge”.

Mr Coveney said the Taoiseach “informed the other Government leaders prior to his appointment that in the normal course of events these professional obligations would have been discharged in a short period of time following his appointment.

“Due to the pandemic there were exceptional delays in hearings of those aspects of litigation in which the Attorney General was involved. It was not possible to discharge these obligations as early as anticipated.”

But the Attorney General has no further private litigation commitments outstanding, he said.

Defend

On Monday the Taoiseach defended Mr Gallagher and said: “I do of course have full confidence in the Attorney General. I asked the Attorney General to serve because of his ability, because of his work ethic, and because of his integrity.”

Mr Gallagher represented former nonexecutive directors at the High Court case involving Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement inspectors who are examining the affairs of Independent News and Media.

Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats have criticised Coalition leaders for allowing Mr Gallagher to continue involvement with the High Court inspection sought by the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

But Mr Martin rejected any allegation that there was any conflict of interest between Mr Gallagher’s seeing out his private work and his work as Attorney General advising the Government on legal matters.

“There couldn’t have been any conflict of interest and there wasn’t any in any of those three cases,” said Mr Martin, adding that the director general of the office of the AG gives advice in any case where AGs have had past involvement.