Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 435: To ask the Minister for Defence if he will indicate the numbers, if any, of in or out of court settlements made by his Department directly or by bodies directly or indirectly under his aegis for whatever reason in the past ten years to date; the extent, if any, to which a confidentiality clause was attached in any such agreements; if known, the cost or likely cost to the Exchequer arising therefrom, and under what particular heading any such charge might have been applied; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37715/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Chief State Solicitor's Office and the State Claims Agency manage and provide legal representation in relation to all cases taken against the Minister for Defence. In cases where the State is considered liable or which involve an apportionment of liability as between the State and the claimant, I am informed that both the State Claims Agency and Chief State Solicitor's Office approach is to settle such cases expeditiously in so far as it is possible and to do so on reasonable terms. In cases where liability is fully disputed by the State, all necessary resources are applied to defending such claims robustly.

Confidentiality clauses may be attached on a case by case basis depending on various factors. The Department does not hold separate statistics in relation to cases involving confidentiality clauses and each case file would have to be individually examined in order to ascertain this information. As this task would involve inordinate effort, it is not possible to supply the Deputy with this information. However, my officials are compiling figures in conjunction with the State Claims Agency and the Chief State Solicitors Office regarding the total amount of out of court settlements and court awards. I will write to the Deputy with the information as soon as possible.