Ms Eileen Creedon:

Approximately €5 million relates to one large case. It is a live case because it has not been finally concluded. The rest relates to a balance of cases. We pursue costs and manage them but we cannot always reclaim them successfully. A lot of them would relate to lay litigants where it can be difficult to recover costs but we manage the process and we go as far as we can to recover them. We have some successes but sometimes it can take longer because we may have to go to the District Court for instalment orders against individuals. We are conscious that it is taxpayers' money and we have to pursue it. People who engage in litigation with the State and are unsuccessful can sustain a cost burden and it is up to us to pursue it.