Mr. Gerard Egan:

To explain the process, we have to consider the nature of the claim. We consult our legal advisers about the quantum of the claim. There can be scope for settlement negotiations to be conducted without necessarily going to taxation. I am not a legal person but as I understand it, it would be quite common in such matters for the parties to try to settle. Given the nature of the committee here, members can rest assured that when we receive a gross claim, we do not just pay it. I am not costing any aspersions on the bona fides of the claimants but the settlement negotiations that we have experienced in the last number of years have substantially settled claims at a much reduced level from the original level, in the quantum of approximately between 25% and 40%. We have also gone to taxation but I understand that people know that to go to taxation is itself a costly process, including the transaction costs of taxation. We have to make the judgment about whether we settle at what we consider to be an amount that would not be bettered at taxation. That is what we do in individual cases. We have settled but at a level that is much lower than the claim.