Ms Deirdre Courtney:

I thank all the members for their kind comments. There was a question about cost and things like that. When an incident occurs, obviously, it must be proved legally that mistakes were made or that the medical profession is liable. I suppose it will come into being if the periodical payments order is brought in but there should be a fund from which one could draw. I mention early intervention because Bríd has cerebral palsy and it affects her four limbs. As members will have noted from the statement, she needs help with everything. Early intervention for children who have such difficulties, or who have any difficulties, is vital. One needs money to put those early interventions in place. That is the bottom line.

There were times my husband would ask me where I was getting the money because we used to take Bríd for physiotherapy and at one stage, it was costing us €400 per week. We kept that going for 18 months and then less frequently for another two years. When my husband asked where I was getting the money, I would say to him not to ask. We have four other children. One would hope and have aspirations that they would all get through their education and go to college. One was putting money in different pots and it was not easy. There should be something there from which one could draw and then move forward from there.

The fact this takes so long is beyond me. The proceedings were issued in 2006, so Bríd was only three years of age. She was seven years of age when we went to court the first time and nine years of age when we went the second time. If we had not taken our solicitor's advice, we would have been going to court for a third time. I just cannot understand it.

What I do not understand either is how the State can hand over €11 million, as in our case, but nobody has ever said sorry to us or that it was somebody's fault. Nobody has ever admitted it. How the State can do that and hand over the money is beyond me.