Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 November 2020
539. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education the way in which her Department’s annual amount for contingent liability is set; the factors considered when setting contingent liability; if forecasting is undertaken regarding setting future amounts; the contingent liability figure for her Department for 2020; and if the contingent has been utilised to date in 2020. [36900/20]
View answerThe 2019 Annual Appropriation Accounts disclose contingent liabilities as at 31 December 2019. Three categories of contingent liability were disclosed; €1 million in respect of the Residential Institutions Redress Scheme; €335,000 in respect of a pension liability relating to the pension liability for the Middletown Centre for Autism; and a contingent liability in respect of the schools remediation programme the value of which was not disclosed in the accounts due ongoing legal procedures.
The estimated liability in relation to the Residential Institutions Redress Scheme is based on the average award and legal cost paid per application paid by the Redress Board and the estimated number of remaining Redress Board applications to be processed. The estimated liability for the Middletown Centre for Autism is based on an actuarial assessment. €730,000 of the Redress Scheme contingency for 2020 has been utilised. There has been no application of the Middletown Centre for Autism contingent liability in 2020. The full value of the contingency utilised during 2020 will be determined as part the 2020 Appropriation Account process.
