Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to ask one question about State legal fees and fees to barristers. If cases were settled earlier, would it result in lower fees? If one takes the example of the HSE, it regularly issues half hearted apologies seven years after children suffer catastrophic injuries at birth. That seven year period would involve quite a build up of fees. I ask the Minister of State to outline the relationship between the Office of the Chief State Solicitor and the State Claims Agency because on average, if a settlement is made for €1 million, the legal and professional costs add another €0.5 million to the bill. In other words, for every €1 million settlement by the State Claims Agency on behalf of the HSE, by far the biggest area, the add-on for professional and legal fees is 50% on average. That has been the case for the last number of years. If there are settlements of €60 million in full year, the legal fees are €30 million. I often feel that if State agencies were a bit more up front earlier in the process, cases would be settled more quickly. A lot of people who take cases would be happy to settle earlier with an acknowledgement that something went wrong. That would take a lot of the heat out of such cases.