The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
PAYMENTS totalling almost €13,000 weekly were paid by Clare County Council to Michael Houlihan and Partners for legal services over the past three years, new figures have revealed. Councillor P J Kelly has expressed concern about the amount of money spent securing legal advice over the last three years after tabling a motion seeking a breakdown of this expenditure. In 2019, Michael Houlihan and Partners were paid €853,323 in total, which included €513,208 for revenue and €340,115 for capital projects. This fell to a total of €574,392 in 2020, which broke down to €333,184 on Revenue and €241,208 capital accounts a year later. The figure for 2021 was very similar – €577,740, which included €327,190 on Revenue and €250,549 on Capital accounts. Councillor P J Kelly told a council meeting on Monday he was unaware that the contract with the authority’s existing legal provider was finishing at the end of the year or that a new one was about to …
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