A mother of two who faces a legal bill of €500,000 following an unsuccessful civil action against the Department of Education has appealed to the Government to provide her with a written assurance that it will not pursue her for the State's costs.
Louise O'Keeffe, from Dunmanway, Co Cork, last night called on the Government to clarify remarks suggesting it would waive her costs and prevent a scenario where she would be forced to sell her home.
Last week, the High Court found that the State was not liable for the indecent assaults inflicted on Ms O'Keeffe by a primary school principal while she was a pupil, leaving her with a legal bill of €500,000.
However, Senator Mary O'Rourke told the Seanad on Tuesday: "I understand that neither the department nor the State Claims Agency will move to collect their costs to date."
The Taoiseach told the Dáil that Ms O'Keeffe's case would be treated "sympathetically".
Last night, Ms O'Keeffe said she welcomed the comments, but now required a written assurance.
"I haven't heard from anyone in the Taoiseach's office, the Department of Education or the SCA since the case last Thursday. My solicitors wrote to them about the costs, but we haven't received any reply.
"While I would take some comfort in their verbal comments, there is still nothing in writing, and I would ask them to take the next step forward and put in writing that they will waive the costs."
The SCA has signalled no decision will be made on Ms O'Keeffe's costs before a meeting with her legal team next week.