Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Breen and the SCA can liaise with the secretariat. I ask him to give us some reply. He heard me earlier; I do not want to compromise the State's position by over-exposing what is being provided at this stage. Mr. Breen will understand my position.

I have some final points. I am interested in a figure regarding the settlements made by the SCA last year. I would like the figure for previous years. There is no need to go into the exact figures, it is just a general question. Let us presume settlements amounted to €347 million. What would the SCA have provided for in respect of the cases that were to be settled? Had the SCA allowed for perhaps €247 million or something closer to €547 million or what was provided for prospective settlements? How close was the SCA's estimate?

Mr. Breen is telling us what is accumulating. We are underestimating the costs and that leads me to ask how often does the SCA revalue its cases? Let us take the example of a case that comes in and all of the legal papers have been served. It is then adjudged that it is a case worth €1 million. As the months go by, however, more information may become available. Is there a systematic method in place which is regularly used to reassess cases when more information is received? Would a case then be adjusted to state that it might now cost €2 million in light of the new information received? Does the SCA adjust its overall figures and what is the mechanism for doing that? I am not looking for information immediately. Does Mr. Breen know, for example, out of the settlements made last year, what was the approximate provision before the outcome of those settlements?