35. (1) The claims management functions shall, in so far as section 6(1) of the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924 applies to them, be performed by the Agency on behalf of the Attorney General.

(2) The Attorney General may, for the purposes of subsection (1), request the Agency to furnish to him or her information in relation to such matters as he or she may specify concerning or relating to the performance by the Agency of the claims management functions; and the Agency shall comply with any such request.

(3) The Attorney General may, for the purposes of subsection (1) and where he or she is satisfied that the interests of the State so require, give the Agency such directions (whether of a general or a particular nature) as he or she considers appropriate in relation to the performance by the Agency of the claims management functions; and the Agency shall comply with any such directions.

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (3), a direction under that subsection may direct the Agency not to begin, or to discontinue, managing any delegated claim or class of delegated claims specified in the direction and such a direction shall remain in force for a period ending on—

(a) in the case of a delegated claim, the giving by the Minister of a direction under section 34(8) in relation to the delegated claim so specified,

(b) the revocation by the Government under section 34(7) of a delegation in relation to the delegated claim or class of delegated claims so specified, or

(c) the expiration of a period of 30 days commencing on the date of the giving of the first-mentioned direction whichever occurs first.

(5) If the Attorney General gives a direction under subsection (3) he or she shall, as soon as practicable, inform the Taoiseach, the Minister and the relevant Minister of the Government that he or she has done so.

(6) The Attorney General may, whenever he or she considers it necessary or expedient to do so for the purposes of subsection (1), give general guidelines to the Agency and the Agency shall perform the claims management functions in accordance with any such guidelines.

(7) In this section the “claims management functions” means the functions referred to in section 33(1).