Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I will table a technical amendment on Report Stage to allow a final outstanding section of the recent Patient Safety Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure Act 2023 to be commenced. The relevant section of the patient safety Act includes provision for the extension of HIQA's power to carry out an independent review of a defined type of serious patient safety incident where some or all of the care of the patient was carried out in a nursing home. My Department was advised by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel that a minor technical amendment is required to ensure that public nursing homes are covered by this provision as well as private nursing homes. The amendment is currently with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for drafting and I am signalling my intention to introduce it on Report Stage.