Mr. Ciarán Breen:

My understanding - this dates back to the mid-1970s - is that they were not ruled on in court, the reason being there were no proceedings in train at the time. Matters are normally ruled on in court where the proceedings are up and it would be the parent or "next friend" who would take them. They are ruled on in court on that basis. My understanding is the payments were made ex gratiaoutside formal proceedings.