Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The judge also stated: "In my view there is no special cause in this case which would require this court to exercise its discretion to award to the plaintiffs the cost of the entire proceedings on the basis that it was a case of general importance to the country at large or that it raised matters of particular public importance." He recognised that the case was of course of major importance to the plaintiff but he also pointed out that the plaintiff's parents had denied in their evidence that these proceedings were other than a claim in respect of their own son and stated that it was not part of any wider campaign in the public interest.

I wish to make some general remarks on the issue of legal proceedings brought against my Department. The Department does not initiate these legal cases. From time to time there are references in the media to the Department dragging people through the courts. This is absolutely not the case.

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