Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said yesterday she did not know in advance of a controversial letter sent to alleged victims of child sexual abuse.
The letters, which warned recipients they would be pursued for their costs unless they took the Department of Education out of legal proceedings, were not sanctioned by the department, the Minister told RTÉ's Six One Newsprogramme.
Ms Hanafin said the letters were a "legal response to a legal question" and had been sent by the Chief State Solicitor's Office on the instructions of the State Claims Office, and not by her department.
"The Chief State Solicitor's Office sent out letters to lawyers explaining what was the outcome of various cases and explaining to them that the Department of Education wasn't the person who was responsible in that case," the Minister said.
"It's very much a legal letter going to other lawyers," Ms Hanafin added.
An RTÉ Prime Time Investigatesprogramme found that letters were sent to 248 people currently suing the Department of Education because of alleged sexual abuse in schools.
A Cork woman, Louise O'Keeffe, is currently being pursued for costs of up to €500,000 after the High Court decided last year that the State was not responsible for the sexual abuse she suffered at Dunderrow national school in the 1970s.
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