Mr. Ciarán Breen:

Sometimes, there is reluctance on the part of the plaintiff's solicitor to share the report with us. Therefore, we find ourselves in a situation where we cannot do anything but have the woman examined, as we need to have our own report. The question of estimated liability and so on has been mentioned. If we did not have a report, we would be in danger of miscalculating the value of the case. If there has been an extensive or severe injury, we want to know that at the earliest date so that we can value the case properly. These are functional aspects of the tort system. I agree that it is not the nicest or easiest thing to happen, but it is part of the rigour of handling cases. Even where we do it as sensitively as we can, there is always a tension between what we do and how people feel about it.