Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I did some research before this meeting and have some corresponding figures for other jurisdictions. Between 2016 and 2020 in Canada, for example, there was a total of 3,806 resolved legal cases. Of that number, 44% were judgments in favour of the plaintiff, 5.9% were in favour of the physician, 1,384 cases, or 36.4%, were settled with the plaintiff, and 2,156, or 55.6%, were dismissed. In Sweden, €61 million was paid out in claims in 2020. Why is there such a disparity in the figures for Ireland in regard to claims? Is it the case that there is a far higher level of mismanagement here? Is there a problem with the way we manage patients in our hospital system?