Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone in attendance, particularly Ms Deirdre Courtney and her husband Brendan. I have nothing but admiration for Ms Courtney's courage and conviction in fighting the case of her lovely little lady. She is the spit of her mammy. I congratulate Ms Courtney and thank her as I acknowledge it must be difficult to attend today.

I do not know whether the witnesses can answer my questions. I agree absolutely that there needs to be a statutory duty of candour. I am still not sure whether people would continue to fight cases, perhaps in earnest. Mr. Ernest Cantillon was first engaged in 2004. Why in God's name did it take until 2012 for the institution to finally admit it was wrong and write a cheque? What happened during that very lengthy period that could not have happened much earlier? I refer to the changing of limitations and pre-action protocols. What could we do to reduce the duration of case proceedings from 11 years to perhaps two or another acceptable period such that, at the beginning of the fight, one would know the end date, regardless of the result? Obviously, one begins in the hope that the result will be in one's favour.

Do any of the delegates in the legal profession have any idea what it would cost the State to defend a case such as that of young Bríd? If I were a doctor and admitted liability in a case such as that of Bríd after week one instead of week 4,001, would there be a difference in my insurance premium after the settlement? If the hospital in the case in question had said in 2004 that instead of fighting the case it would acknowledge what occurred and pay out the €11 million, or another agreed sum, the tone of the discussion would have been entirely different. It would have been different had the authorities sat down with Ms Courtney and treated her in the humane and compassionate way in which she should have been treated. Are there other jurisdictions with a duty of candour? If so, has it had a massive impact on how litigation proceeds and on the level of medical insurance costs? I would be very grateful if the witnesses could tease that out for me.