Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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My question on the degree to which the public and the private sector are monitored has already been asked. Why exclude the private sector from the supervision and monitoring that is required? That leads to my next question. If the private sector is excluded, I cannot ask for a comparison between the number of incidents reported from the private sector and the public sector, which would be crucial information for the purposes of this exercise, so I will ask the question in a different way. From the cases already appearing in the public arena from the public and private sectors, it must be possible to have some idea as to where the incidents are originating, even with the limited supervision taking place now.

Regarding the procedures in hospitals, from the experiences and the litigation to date, has it been found possible to take steps to the operation of various hospital inpatient or outpatient clinics or whatever the case may be to reduce the degree to which accidents or incidents can take place?

The next question relates to the costs associated with that. It appears to me that the costs arising from litigation are rising rapidly. That may or may not be true but it appears to me to be so. What procedures are being followed? For example, would it not be better to examine a case in a without prejudice setting to see what can be resolved without necessarily going through the entire litigation process? I have nothing against litigation but if the problem can be resolved quicker and as effectively, it should be followed.

Finally, from the cases already referred to that have been resolved in the courts to the satisfaction of the offended party, what percentage of the total of those were resolved on the steps of the courts without judgment in the formal way? Is that information known? It should be known. It is a statistic that should be readily available. Of the settlement costs accruing to the complainants, what are the associated legal costs? I ask that question to determine if it would not be better to have a resolution process dealing with these cases that would short-circuit the long legal process and the payment of legal fees and try to accommodate the complainant, not accepting liability that could be abused in the future, which could be examined? I would like information on those issues. I have raised questions about them many times in the House previously. I believe we have come to a juncture now where it is imperative that we learn from past mistakes, put in place measures to ensure we do not find ourselves in that position again and that the complaints are dealt with in a way that is cost effective and efficient and meets the requirements of both sides to the best of our ability.