Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 130: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of cases before the courts, or pending, against her Department; the reason for such cases; the number of cases settled since 2002; the costs involved; the number of awards made against her Department since 2002; the amounts involved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25800/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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There are approximately 350 cases before the Courts which involve the Department as a Defendant or Respondent. They include litigation relating to schools, children detention schools, special needs, employment law matters and contractual disputes. This figure does not include childhood abuse cases relating to industrial and reformatory schools and residential Institutions, which number approximately 1,000 live cases. These are being dealt with primarily by the Residential Institutions Redress Board.

Approximately 200 cases have been settled since 2002. In the same period, awards were made against my Department in 4 cases, one of which is under appeal to the Supreme Court.

My Department meets the legal costs of plaintiffs where there is a settlement or an order for costs against the State where my Department is named. The Department has spent the following amounts (costs and awards) per year since 2002 in cases in which the Minister for Education and Science is a party:

2002: €5,282,807.20

2003: €5,887,384.59

2004: €6,748,952.27

2005: €2,927,329.58

2006: €3,073,944.41

Total: €23,920,418.05

It should be noted that these amounts do not necessarily relate to the years in which the proceedings commenced. For instance an action initiated in 1999 may have been settled in 2001 and the order for costs may not be finalised until some time after that.