Vol. 522 No. 4
217 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the number of legal actions entered into by the Department within the last 12 months; the number that are either successful, failed or ongoing; the total cost of these actions; the number of barristers employed; and the amount of money given to each barrister. [19079/00]
As clarified with the Deputy's office, the information requested in relation to the number of legal actions instituted by or against my Department in the last twelve months i.e. since June 1999, is below.
The employment of barristers and any payments to them is a matter for the Chief State Solicitor's office.
There were eight legal actions initiated against my Department since June 1999. Some ten legal actions against my Department were settled since June 1999. There are currently 79 legal actions ongoing against my Department.
My Department has initiated two legal actions since June 1999. Some four cases brought by my Department have been settled since June 1999. There are 22 legal actions brought by my Department ongoing.
It has not been possible to calculate the total cost of these actions for the period in question as the issue of costs in some of the actions settled has not yet been finalised or is protected by order of the court. However, I can inform the Deputy that a total in the region of £250,000 has been awarded to claims settled against my Department in the past 12 months.
