Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Yes, it has operated since October 2006 and all relevant issues in the Attorney General's office are discussed. The process is that cases of importance are brought to it. While hundreds of cases challenging legislation or statutory instruments are current at any one time, the key cases, as per the Sullivan report, are brought forward to the legal MAC. I understand the Government receives a report from it on cases of importance not quarterly but three times a year. As Deputy Gilmore is aware, 19 measures were adopted from the Sullivan report to minimise the risk of a recurrence of that serious event. Most of those measures related to enhanced risk assessment procedures, including external review of risk assessment procedures, and at group level assigning responsibility for risk assessment to a member of each group in respect of cases being processed by it. They report under new management procedures, including the establishment of the legal MAC which the Deputy mentioned, to focus on the current legal issues. The idea for the establishment of the legal MAC was to concentrate not on the administrative but on the legal issues. The administrative issues are clearly being dealt with in the normal way by the Secretary General of the Attorney General's office. The legal MAC was set up to concentrate on the legal issues coming forward from the examination of the procedures, and this is happening.

There was also to be further enhancement of the information communications technology system, including the provision of a risk register at case level, so that the case handler would be prompted to assess the risks in the opening of a case and at suitable checkpoints. I understand that all these issues are being undertaken.

I asked if all cases are brought to the legal MAC and, in response to Deputy Gilmore's question, not all cases are brought to it. Currently there are 340 cases of constitutional actions against the State. Therefore, not every case is brought to the legal MAC, only the cases it is believed merit that consideration where challenges have been made either to constitutional Acts of the Oireachtas or otherwise. I thought the idea was that every case would come before it, but I want to be clear about that. I checked the number of current cases and given the number it would not be possible for them all to come before it. The main cases of the 340 current cases would be brought forward to the legal MAC.

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