Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not know if I am unique in this Dáil but I think I am unique in this room in that I would have dealt with the outworkings of this legislation. Appealing to the High Court is really onerous in terms of the time it takes and the stress it causes. Let us not lose sight of the fact that it also costs the State a fortune. I have been in the High Court on an appeal when I was given leave to represent a member. He or she turns up with a full team. It is a very expensive process for the State. The High Court is there as an option but sometimes it is the only avenue for relatively minor matters. Number one, it is extremely intimidating and number two, it costs a significant amount of money. The healthcare professional is paying his or her retention fee so the organisation that receives that fee can spend a significant amount of money taking that healthcare professional and his or her colleagues to the High Court, not for serious matters - everybody appreciates that - but for relatively minor matters. It seems a bit heavy. It is very intimidating and time is also a factor because the courts probably have more onerous things with which to deal. The healthcare professional has that hanging over him or her the entire time. We are dealing with processes that with the best will in the world can take years. The process has a significant impact on people's lives. Nobody goes into these professions to have to deal with the legal profession and it is something that can hang over him or her. Even where the appeal is successful, one is still talking about a lot of time, effort, energy and money being expended in the intervening time.