Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

With regard to the most recent case, that of Louise O'Keeffe, has the Minister expressed a view to the State Claims Agency at this point and, if so, what was that view? How many cases are before the Department at present from the State Claims Agency on which the Minister's views are being sought? Does she have figures on the number of cases the Department of Education and Science is defending in respect of child abuse?

In the beginning of March the case of Connellan v St. Joseph's in Kilkenny was heard. The Department of Education and Science and other Departments were co-defendants. What is the Minister's policy on bringing a case to conclusion, trying to settle it early and admitting liability where liability is clear? The Department appears at present to have a policy of defending cases to the very end. I am not advocating that the Minister should give in on every case because obviously she has a duty to protect the taxpayer. However, there are cases where abuse certainly occurred, although the liability can be an issue in some of them. Like the Louise O'Keeffe case, the victims of Donal Dunne have not had the opportunity to go before the redress board. Can the Minister envisage a way of facilitating these people?

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