David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will not talk the Minister through the amendment as it is has been ruled out of order, unfortunately. I do not see why. I cannot see how the amendment would have incurred a cost to the Exchequer to the point that it was ruled out of order but that is not for the Minister and I to have a discussion on.

I will speak very briefly to this point in the section and on what I was seeking to do, which is that any individual who is employed by the health services should be mandated to report incidents under Schedule 1. If it is left to only some clinicians and not others, the difficulty is some of them may not report. There are robust procedures and processes for failure to report but it is possible some incidents may not be captured in instances and situations where others working in or around an individual who is mandated to report are also aware of a notifiable incident, which should be reported by that individual. It is very important we get this right and that any individual who has a sense that something is wrong and works in the healthcare service should be mandated to come forward.

I have spoken to a number of advocate groups on this matter and we do not want a situation where there is over-reporting. I appreciate there is a balance to be struck but, at the same time, we can put safeguards in place to protect the rights of healthcare staff who may well come forward, which is why the amendment allows for people to report an incident to HIQA, for example, as an alternative and added protection. Nobody should have any fear about coming forward in respect of his or her job or standing in the health services. We are doing this because it is about patient safety and it is the right thing to do. Incidents should be reported and followed by fair processes to investigate any notifiable incidents or complaints made under the mandatory reporting process. Anyone in the health service needs to be properly protected when he or she comes forward.

The point I am making is what I was seeking to make in the amendment. As that has been ruled out of order, I can only speak to it in the section, namely, that we should broaden the scope of who should be making reports and who should be mandated to make reports. It should be all those who work in healthcare settings.