IDA spends €165k on legal consultancy for just 13 FOIs

The IDA said its spend on legal consultancy regarding FOI was split between six separate firms, the highest-remunerated of which was Byrne Wallace which received €105,502. File picture: Denis Minihane

The IDA has spent more than €165,000 on legal consultancy in answering freedom of information requests since 2019, in a trend that has been described as “disturbing”.

The body, which holds responsibility for encouraging foreign direct investment (FDI) into Ireland, spent that amount on answering just 13 separate Freedom of Information (FOI) requests in that time.