Solicitors for HSE paid €207 an hour

The HSE is paying solicitors €207 an hour to tell courts it can’t afford to compensate patients for damage caused to them in hospitals.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show the HSE spent €15.32m on external legal advice last year, the majority of which was used to fight a series of cases brought against the State.

Documents obtained by trade newspaper the Irish Medical Times confirm that the money was spent on 74,196 hours of solicitors’ help from Arthur Cox Consultancy Services, which farmed out the work to 28 separate “member firms”.