Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 8 December 2016

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Civil Liability (Amendment) Bill 2015: Discussion

9:00 am

Mr. Ciarán Breen:

If I could come back to that point, it is not that we have any kind of ideological objection to a mandatory or voluntary approach. It is a genuine feeling on our side, given we meet lots of participants in the health service such as junior hospital doctors, registrars, consultants, nurse practitioners and others. The view generally is that there are times when one has to compel people in terms of behavioural models in regard to drink driving and so on. It is different in the area of health, however, given the complexity that can attach to any particular case. For an obstetric case involving the tragedy of a cerebral palsy baby, for example, because it is so complex, the idea of a mandatory approach would drive people in a certain way and mean they will be more protective, rather than more expressive of an open and frank environment. That is our view based on-----