Mr. Ciarán Breen:

In all those cases as they arise, our preferred option is to go to mediation. In the three cases that have settled so far the first was a failed mediation, the second was a straightforward settlement where the other party decided not to go for mediation and in the third, the Emma Mhic Mhathúna case, which is the most recent one, we had mediation, which did not quite fail. The mediation broke up on a Sunday but during that week negotiations continued. Our aim is to ensure that all these cases, in so far as we can do them, go to mediation. We must remember that a plaintiff might decide that she does not want to do mediation.