11MCGUINNESS/PAC/BAILEY/CLIP/GR

The Public Accounts Committee is set to investigate whether the state wasted public money in its defence at Ian Bailey's legal case.

Labour's Joe Costello wants an inquiry into why the state allowed 62 days of hearings before claiming that some matters fell outside the statute of limitations.

Chairman John McGuinness says the committee may not be able to investigate how the state responds to individual cases.

But he says the Chief State Solicitor will be attending a meeting in the coming weeks: