Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 October 2023
103. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance the number of legal cases taken against his Department in each of the past ten years and to date in 2023; and the costs associated with same in each of those years. [45396/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is not possible to provide this information requested in the time available because the Minister for Finance is named as a party on a large number of proceedings which seek damages from the State, without being directly involved in the running of the litigation in circumstances where another Minister may take the leading role in respect of providing instructions on the issue. We do not have records of all cases naming the Minister for Finance. In many cases, we are not consulted even though the Minister for Finance is a party, where another Minister is the lead defendant and provides instructions. There is an (erroneous) assumption in some legal circles that the Minister for Finance should be named as a defendant whenever damages (or costs) are being sought from the State.
The Chief State Solicitor's Office or the State Claims agency, as Government solicitor absorb the cost of representing the Department.
A list of particularly sensitive litigation relevant to the Minister for Finance is prepared on a regular basis by the Office of the Attorney General. As of July 2023, there are six ongoing cases included in the list of sensitive litigation for which the Minister for Finance is the primary respondent/defendant.
