Dr. Tony Holohan:

I will come in on a number of those questions. My colleagues may wish to come in and supplement some of what I might say. There will be a tight definition and, ultimately, a list of those. The list will be subject to change. The Deputy may be aware that there is already a list in operation on an administrative basis within the HSE. It has a governance mandate from the top of the HSE but it does not have legal standing as things stand. It would be something along the lines of that list and would not be terribly dissimilar to those that exist in other jurisdictions. My strong sense is that we would need a process to continue in order to advise on changes that would need to be made to that list on an annual basis. Things could get added or taken away but there would be a very clear list and definition of each reportable incident.

On the powers and the powers HIQA has under the 2007 Act, what we are proposing as our direction of travel in respect of licences will add substantially to the potential powers of enforcement that HIQA would have that would be relevant in this context. In the context of the powers, the powers are as they are written in the 2007 Act.