24.	COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

(a)	Capital Commitments

The Group has capital commitments authorised and contracted for of US$Nil as at December 31, 2022 (2021: US$440,000).

(b)	Leasing Commitments

The Group’s leasing commitments are shown in Note 23.

(c)	Bank Security

The Credit Agreement for the senior secured term loan is secured by substantially all of our property and assets, including our equity interests in our subsidiaries, refer to Note 22.

At December 31, 2022, the Group’s sale and leaseback borrowings were at fixed rates of interest and consisted of USD denominated borrowings, refer to Note 23. The bank providing the financing has a charge over the equipment for which the borrowing pertains.

(d)	Group Company Guarantees

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 357, Irish Companies Act, 2014, the Company has guaranteed the liabilities of Trinity Biotech Manufacturing Limited, Trinity Research Limited and Trinity Biotech Financial Services Limited subsidiary undertakings in the Republic of Ireland, for the financial year to December 31, 2022 and, as a result, these subsidiary undertakings have been exempted from the filing provisions of Section 357, Irish Companies Act, 2014. Where the Company enters into these guarantees of the indebtedness of other companies within its Group, the Company considers these to be insurance arrangements and accounts for them as such. The Company treats the guarantee contract as a contingent liability until such time as it becomes probable that the company will be required to make a payment under the guarantee. The Company does not enter into financial guarantees with third parties.

(e)	Contingent Asset

In the 2019 financial statements, a contingent asset of US$1,231,000 was disclosed in connection with the 2019 tax audit settlement payable by Darnick Company. This balance was settled in the year ended December 31, 2020 and has been credited to the Statement of Operations within Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. The underlying amount was denominated in Euro. Due to a depreciation in the US Dollar since 2019, the US Dollar equivalent amount increased from US$1,231,000 to US$1,316,000. The settlement amount received by the Company was US$177,000 more than the balance owed and this overpayment was recorded as a related party current liability for the benefit of Ronan O’Caoimh as at December 31, 2020. The amount was settled by the Group in January 2021. There are no contingent assets as of December 31, 2022 (2021: US$Nil).

(f)	Government Grant Contingencies

The Group has received training and employment grant income from Irish development agencies. Subject to existence of certain conditions specified in the grant agreements, this income may become repayable. No such conditions existed as at December 31, 2022. However, if the income were to become repayable, the maximum amounts repayable as at December 31, 2022 would amount to US$3,259,509 (2021: US$3,095,000).

To mitigate the financial impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, the Group availed of governmental supports. In 2020, the Group received US$4.5 million of Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans and in 2021, a further US$1.8 million of PPP loans were received. All of the loans received to date under the program have been forgiven by the US government before December 31, 2022 and therefore no liability for these loans exists at December 31, 2022.

(g)	Other Contingencies

The Company has other contingencies primarily relating to claims and legal proceedings, onerous contracts, product warranties and employee related provisions. The status of each significant claim and legal proceeding in which the Company is involved is reviewed by management on a periodic basis and the Group’s potential financial exposure is assessed. If the potential loss from any claim or legal proceeding is considered probable, and the amount can be reliably estimated, a liability is recognised for the estimated loss. Because of the uncertainties inherent in such matters, the related provisions are based on the best information available at the time; the issues taken into account by management and factored into the assessment of legal contingencies include, as applicable, the status of settlement negotiations, interpretations of contractual obligations, prior experience with similar contingencies/claims, and advice obtained from legal counsel and other third parties. The Group expects the majority of these provisions will be utilised within one to three years of the balance sheet date; however due to the nature of the legal provisions there is a level of uncertainty in the timing of settlement as the Group generally cannot determine the extent and duration of the legal process.