State Solicitor’s office to be quizzed about legal cases

Officials from the Chief State Solicitor's office are due before the Oireachtas finance committee today to explain their approach to legal cases taken against the State.

The officials are due to be questioned in particular about the huge costs incurred in cases taken by parents who believe the State is failing its responsibility to special needs children.

Many of these cases are settled just minutes before they get to court, when massive legal costs have already been incurred by both sides.

Fianna Fáil TD Sean Fleming, the chairman of the finance committee, said yesterday that he wanted to know how much these cases were costing and whether the State was actually wasting taxpayers' money by contesting some of them.