Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Can we get a summary? From what we see, the State Claims Agency turns over hundreds of millions every year and some of the cases should not have to go to the High Court for settlement. If there were earlier admissions of liability across the board, we could avoid having the taxpayer pay unnecessary legal fees. I worry that sometimes a Department might know there is a liability but not want to settle a figure in case the Comptroller and Auditor General says it should not have done so. Instead, it might decide to let the High Court or the Supreme Court settle the figure. Whether it is higher or lower, it does not matter because the Department will have covered itself because it did not settle the figure. The taxpayer is not being well protected in that process. Does Mr. Quinn understand where I am coming from?