Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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No. The document is not sub judice. I will read the letter we received from the HSE with the document. It is approximately five pages. It states that it encloses 30 copies of the internal audit report. It goes on:

The committee may wish to note that in the normal course the HSE does not publish or release to any third party finalised internal audit reports until six months has expired since the date of completion. The reason for this is because any affected party has a period of three months within which they may bring a judicial review challenging a report or any part of that report and has a period of six months within which to commence defamation proceedings.

The letter further states that if a report is published prior to these periods elapsing, there is a potential risk of liability arising from such publication. The HSE internal audit report was completed on 14 April 2016 and furnished to Console on that date. The period within which a judicial review challenging the report may be brought will expire in the normal course on 14 July. By pure coincidence, our meeting will take place on 15 July. As such, we will be smack-bang outside the three month period. The six-month period within which a person could bring defamation proceedings in the normal course will elapse on 14 October. Anybody is free to do that about anything anywhere in the country. The HSE says that while it does not anticipate any challenge will be brought concerning the Console internal audit report and sees no basis for such a claim, the committee may wish to obtain its own legal advice as to how it intends to use the report. The HSE is just putting us on notice. It is up to us.