Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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73. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide the cost to the Exchequer each year from 2009 to 2014 of the amount paid by her Department under the terms of settlements which included confidentiality agreements or confidentiality clauses. [26187/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Acting as the State Claims Agency (SCA), the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) manages personal injury, property damage and clinical negligence claims brought against certain State authorities, including my Department.

The vast majority of claims under the remit of the SCA (over 11,000 received since 2009, across all State authorities) are resolved without confidentiality agreements attaching and it is not possible to say how many refer to my Department. Confidentiality agreements typically apply to claims in respect of minors or claims associated with abuse or specific medical negligence issues. The fact that cases might be subject to confidentiality agreements are not recorded on the National Adverse Event Management System (NAEMS). The confidentiality clauses are recorded only on the paper files. The agreements, where entered into at the behest of either party, preclude the disclosure of settlement details by either party.