Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

It is interesting that the pandemic changed the dynamic. We have had engagement at previous meetings of the Committee of Public Accounts about the value of mediated settlements. It is more cost-efficient and it is also the least damaging way to deal with claims from the point of view of protracted litigation and so on, and also from the point of view of the kind of engagement that should happen with people where there is a legitimate claim. The number of mediated settlements increased. Mr. Breen says the State Claims Agency is going to build on that. The absence of the court route seems to be the reason this ended up being the case. When the courts open up, how will the State Claims Agency avoid going back to the practice that obtained before the escalation in mediated settlements?