Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Dr. O'Keeffe was aware and we heard it previously from the HSE. I must go back to where I started. I am only dealing with one topic personally today, which is open disclosure. Dr. O'Keeffe knows and it has been stated by the HSE and everybody that the fear of litigation prevented open disclosure in most cases. Dr. O'Keeffe was aware that the fear of litigation was a real factor in preventing open disclosure. She was aware of it at that time because we did not even have the Civil Liability (Amendment) Act 2017 in place never mind the statutory instruments. She had to have known that at that time there was a risk of litigation in respect of the consultants who were going to be involved in open disclosure. That was seen as one of the main barriers to open disclosure which Dr. O'Keeffe knew was there at that time so how could she have presumed that all of these consultants were going to ignore the fear of litigation and talk to all the patients?