Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 25 September 2019

Select Committee on Health

Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee Stage

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Why is a lower court not considered suitable? Was this looked at? We have probably all dealt with cases where healthcare professionals have had their lives destroyed by the HSE. I have dealt with more than one case where it was done intentionally, vindictively and wrongly. I have seen good people who had done nothing wrong, some of whom were what we would now class as whistleblowers, destroyed by management within the HSE. I have seen how they have had to leave work and I have seen them leave the country. I have seen people sitting in the High Court wondering whether the judge was going to award them costs because if the judge did not, they would lose their house. Telling anyone that he or she has to go to the High Court to clear a minor sanction is an extraordinarily onerous thing to do. It can cost the person his or her mental or physical health, reputation or house and it can destroy him or her financially. Making it the first place somebody can go to is setting an exceptionally high bar. If it is a major decision, such as a decision that a medical practitioner is unfit to practise, the High Court might be the only place he or she can go. My understanding of the legislation is that this is for minor sanctions. If a person's entire professional reputation is up for grabs and has received a decision that he or she is not fit to practise then maybe the High Court is the place to go. As Deputy Durkan said, the judges in the High Court are very skilled and experienced.

My question is on minor sanctions because the reality is that for nurses, doctors and dentists, some of them will have the wrong decision made, even with the best will in the world, because bad information will be used in some instances. I have seen cases, as most members probably have, where the HSE has intentionally moved to destroy good people for vindictive, petty and bad reasons. If the only safeguard these people have is the High Court, they are stuffed. It is not reasonable for someone to have to go to the High Court and put everything on the line, including their family home potentially, over a minor sanction.

Were other less onerous mechanisms looked at for minor sanctions? If they were not looked at, will the Minister of State give an undertaking to the committee that before this comes back for Report Stage, maybe we can have an informal meeting with him, or with the Minister, Deputy Harris, the officials and the committee members? Could the Minister of State come back and assure us he has looked at everything else and ideally come up with a better solution? It is not reasonable because we all know what will happen. When wrong decisions are made, as they are made sometimes with the best will in the world and the best motivations, what will happen is there is no way people will go to the High Court and risk their family home with everything that is involved in taking a High Court action against the State, because, as Deputy Durkan said, the State uses it as a tool. A medical professional walks in with whatever solicitor and barrister he or she can afford but the State does not. The State walks in with an army of lawyers. It is not a fair fight. Why does this happen for minor sanctions? Has every other option been exhausted? If it has not been exhausted, can we please look at this before this legislation comes back for Report Stage?

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