44 Mr. Clohessy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry in view of the failure of his Department's Supreme Court Appeal in the Emerald Meats case, if he has called up the 11 indemnities held by his Department pursuant to its letter of 12 February 1990 to the intended beneficiaries; and the amount of the loss to the Exchequer which has been recouped by him so far in this regard. [10785/97]

The extent of the liability of my Department in respect of this case cannot be established until the High Court has heard a submission and ruled on the issue of the award of general damages to Emerald Meats following the Supreme Court appeal. It is the intention of my Department to attempt to recover the cost of these damages from the meat processors involved when this issue is resolved.

It has already been decided by the court that the legal costs should be split 50:50 between the Department and meat processors.