THE HEALTH Service Executive (HSE) hopes to cut its €20 million annual legal bill by putting the service out to tender.

The State agency, responsible for the public health system, yesterday sought tenders for legal advice from the private sector. It spends more on lawyers than any other body in the Republic.

The agency is seeking to streamline its legal advice and cut waste. When it was established four years ago, it inherited structures set up by the regional health boards which were up to then responsible for running public healthcare.

This led to problems such as getting advice on the same issue from more than one source, and it has been paying about €20 million a year for legal services from the private sector.

The new system that the agency intends operating will depart from the traditional “pay-per-hour” model, which meant that it was paying for the person rather than the service. Instead it is seeking bids based on a consortium of law firms providing their services for fixed and defined yearly fees.

The agency recently took market soundings from more than 80 solicitors’ firms from both Ireland and Britain and based its approach on feedback from this.

As it is a public body, it has to tender for the service on an EU-wide basis, which means that some or all of its services could be provided from outside the State.

As part of a reform of its management, the HSE has recently centralised its corporate and support services department, under the leadership of assistant national director, Seán Bresnan. This division will include a new national legal services department.