Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The Louise O'Keeffe case is the subject of the next question. It is a particularly sad case in view of the suffering Louise experienced as a young child in her school. The legal advisers of the Department of Education and Science will meet the State Claims Agency this week about that case. The agency will subsequently meet Louise O'Keeffe's solicitors. I have indicated to the agency that this case should be treated sympathetically. The agency had already indicated that it would deal with the case in a sensitive and measured way and the Taoiseach has indicated in the House that he would like it to be dealt with sympathetically.

The claimant lost the case in court and it is general policy that the costs are paid accordingly. It was pursued in this case so the courts could make a determination on it. Each case is dealt with separately and is determined on a case by case basis. The Department's legal advisers will meet the State Claims Agency which will then make its determination on how to proceed. However, I will ask the agency, before it proceeds to determine, to come back to the Department to seek our views on its suggested course of action on this case.

Different cases are being dealt with in different ways. The State Claims Agency has responsibility for determining whether cases should be contested or settled, having regard to the circumstances of each case. It deals with each case individually. What was interesting in the O'Keeffe case was that the High Court ruled that the school manager is responsible for the direct governance of the school. There was precedent for this in previous cases as well. A number of cases are ongoing in the courts at present but the number has been substantially reduced in recent years, largely because we have begun to make much greater provision in the special needs area. However, there are a number of cases before the courts.

The cases are treated separately. The Deputy referred to another case where the State did not contest liability but introduced rebuttal evidence when fresh allegations were made before the court. The State Claims Agency is considering an appeal in that case but has not yet determined what it will do. With regard to day school cases, how they are treated depends on whether the State has liability. The State was found liable for abuse in day schools in a particular case where seven cases of sex abuse occurred in a national school in the midlands in the early 1970s. That was because it was discovered late last year by the Department that officials had been aware of concerns at the time and that the person in question had been moved from one school to another. A settlement was reached apportioning particular amounts to the other bodies that were responsible.

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