Sectors

Public Sector

Our expertise:

Government, the public service and semi-state organisations all face unprecedented pressure to demonstrate transparency, efficiency and value for money. While there is no doubt that the Irish public sector faces tough demands and decisions, it also is being presented with opportunities to drive innovation and challenge old perceptions.

McCann FitzGerald has extensive experience of working with government departments, local authorities, health authorities and state and semi-state bodies across the range of Government and public sector activities, including justice, infrastructure, transport, health, industrial development and standards, utilities and sectoral and professional regulators. Our experience in this sector includes advising on public sector projects and administrative law and acting in judicial reviews, public inquiries and compliance and regulatory matters.

Key areas:  

Our lawyers are experts on issues such as:

• Developing legislation
• Regulation
• Administrative law and fair procedures in public decision-making
• Developing fiscal policy and taxation matters
• Driving sustainability and the green economy
• Smart economy matters such as intellectual property
• Procurement and developing public service markets
• Risk management in decision making

Key highlights include advising:

• As standing counsel to a number of State authorities in the transport area, including Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the National Transport Authority and the Road Safety Authority. We have acted for each of these since their creation advising them on all aspects of their bespoke legal functions and their powers, duties and responsibilities under relevant legislation. We also “proof” relevant projects and decisions from a judicial review perspective and defend challenges to related consents/ decisions. We also guide each of these on the full range of their public procurement law needs
• Commission for Communications Regulation in several Commercial Court matters including challenges (by way of judicial review and statutory appeals) to its decisions on issues ranging from regulation of premium rate services, emergency call answering services, funding of universal services and postal regulation
• Courts Service, since its establishment where we provide a full drafting service for the committees responsible for establishing and modernising rules of procedure for the conduct of civil and criminal proceedings in all Irish courts