Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 April 2026
52. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to provide details of the number of legal actions against his Department that have been resolved without going to court in line with the 2023 State Litigation Principles; if his Department is fully applying the State Litigation Principles in seeking to resolve any current or outstanding legal actions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28834/26]
View answerIt is not possible to provide the information requested in respect of the number of cases resolved without going to court.
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 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. My Department does not have records of all cases naming the Minister for Finance and does not collate the information sought. In some cases my officials are not even consulted despite the Minister for Finance being named as a party, where another Minister is the lead defendant and provides instructions.
However, I can confirm that my Department is fully applying the State Litigation Principles in litigation in which we are involved. The State litigation principles, as set out by the Attorney General, have been circulated by the Legal Unit in my Department to all senior officials in order to emphasise the importance of complying with same. The officials and lawyers in my Department ensure these principles are fully complied with. In any case litigation involving my Department is conducted by the Chief State Solicitor's Office and the State Claims Agency, under the direction of the Office of the Attorney General where appropriate, all of which organisations apply these principles to litigation in respect of which they are instructed.
