Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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32. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of legal cases taken against his Department in each of the past ten years and to date in 2024; the costs incurred by his Department in relation to such cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41712/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Department's Litigation Branch manages litigation claims taken against the Minister for Defence. In doing so, the Branch works closely with both the State Claims Agency (SCA) and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office (CSSO). Personal injury cases taken against the Minister for Defence are managed on behalf of the Minister for Defence by the SCA, and Employment Law matters taken against the Minister for Defence are managed on behalf of the Minister for Defence by the CSSO.

The total number of cases administered by the Department's Litigation Branch in each year from 2014 to 30 September 2024 are outlined in the table below.

The Deputy will be aware that a case does not always start and finish in the same calendar year, and in some instances the cases can run over a number of years. The figures provided above show the number of new cases received in each of the years 2014 to date.

The costs incurred on claims managed by Litigation Branch per year since 2014 are set out in the table below.

Any costs incurred within the litigation process are closely monitored and are subject to review, oversight and regular reporting within my Department. Any expenditure incurred within the litigation process will continue to be monitored closely as the cases are pro-actively managed in consultation with both the SCA and the CSSO.