Solicitors fees in Ireland ?

Recently a friend had a claim setteled on the grounds of the four courts.. when he was in the solicitors collecting his cheque he saw a letter saying the insurance company would be in touch in relation to his costs(the solictiors costs).
my friend recieved 10000 euro from the claim now the solicitor is looking for 2500 euro as costs. can he do this? does anyone know where my friend stands in relation to this? or is there anyone who he can contact?
thanks

No he was not given any written confirmation of what the fees would be. He siad 'i'll do it for about 2,000 euro' and then later said he was going to look for his legal costs from their insurance company. It was settled outside of court ( on the grounds).The letter from the insurance company which was attached was addressed to the solicitor stated that they would be in touch in relation to his costs. When my friend questioned this the solicitor took it from him and said it was not for him. the solicitor (nd his office) have been ringing him on a daily basic trying to get the money off him. They are even ringing on sunday mornings but my friend does not want to do anything until he knows he has to. If ya know what i mean??
thanks so much

When you friend instructed the solicitor, he was entitled to receive a letter setting out the nature of the instructions and precisely how fees would be calculated.

When the case was settled, what was agreed about your friends legal costs?
What advice were they given about the settlement?

Your friend should have been made aware from the outset what fees he/she was liable for if the case won, lost or settled.
if not, then his solictor has not done their job properly and he has solid grounds for complaint.

He can contact the Law Society to check on fees