Mr. Paul Joyce:

The Law Reform Commission's report seemed to distinguish between a case where an individual might wish to settle and the group settlement. Where an individual might wish to settle, the report seemed to propose that litigants could only remove themselves from the register after the filing of the defence with the authorisation of the court. In the discussion, there seems to be a sense that the lead case might be cherry picked and settled and that might undermine the multi-party action. Regarding the terms upon which a settlement would be accepted as opposed to the terms of any settlement arrangement, the Minister of State's contributions seem to confuse. Regarding the suggestion that one should buy into the exact terms on which one might settle a case as opposed to the procedures for a group settlement of the case, there is a difference between the terms upon which a settlement would be accepted and the terms of any settlement arrangement.