Mr. Ciar?n Breen:

It is a protocol which states a person cannot issue legal proceedings if he or she was in a medical negligence event. The person writes a letter of claim to the State Claims Agency and has to set out his or her claim in detail. We in the agency, on behalf of the HSE, must respond within a strict time limit, stating which aspects of the claim we take issue with. That contrasts with the current system, under which everything is in debate. Under the pre-action protocol, issues are netted down. The two experts can then get together and talk about why they have different views and explore if they can narrow those views. The whole idea is that very quickly, we get to the mediation process. For families, that avoids the added trauma of preparing for, and going to, court. Cases are dealt with in a much shorter timeframe.