The Government has admitted a legal strategy was in place, to deal with a section of people overcharged for nursing home care.
In a statement, a spokesperson said it was "to defend the cases relating to private nursing homes."
It follows claims made in the Irish Daily Mail, that the legal strategy was introduced, so the Government didn't have to pay 12 billion euro in liability and compensation.
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The paper reports that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar signed off on the secret payouts in July 2011.
In response, a Government spokesperson said the strategy pre-dated this date, and was pursued by successive Governments.
