The most hated utility in Ireland is at it again.
It has recently emerged that Irish Water has burned €3.7m in consultancy fees over a period of just six months.
According to figures revealed, €740,000 of the money pie went to A&L Goodbody for legal services, while another law firm, McCann Fitzgerald, received €217,000.
Accountants Ernst and Young Ireland meanwhile, were paid the tidy sum of €470,000 between March and August, while accountancy and consulting firm KPMG earned €120,000 in the same period.
In a feeble attempt to justify the wastage, an Irish Water spokeswomen said: “Irish Water is a large public utility with a significant customer, contract and asset base, and therefore it regularly requires third-party legal expertise to advise us or to act on our behalf in carrying out our normal business.
“We operate hundreds of contracts and at any time may require legal advice on issues ranging from land acquisition to asset transfer to CPOs to property leases to environmental issues or litigation.”