Universities here spent more than €3.3 million on legal fees in cases involving staff over the last five years.
The figures were released to Fine Gael TD Jim Daly after he put down a Dáil question on the issue.
They reveal that the highest spender was UCC where €1.48 million was chalked up in legal costs between 2010 and last year.
Over the period 2014 to 2015 alone, some €619,400 was spent by the university on these fees.
NUI Maynooth paid out more than €567,000 over the five years, according to these figures collated by the Higher Education Authority.
The next highest spender was UCD where legal expenses in staff-related cases accounted for more than €453,000 since 2010.
The university said the figures included fees for barristers and expert witnesses.
UL paid out €267,408 and NUIG paid €266,814, excluding VAT.
The two lowest spenders on legal fees were DCU on €158,703 and TCD on €126,802.
Both of these universities said they pay a yearly retainer to employers' group Ibec for professional advice on human resource issues.
