Dr. Tony Holohan:

I would be happy to do so. To be clear, nothing in what we are proposing in the legislation at the moment addresses this question. I am simply saying that this is now a very relevant issue in the context of the legislation. We think that when we have completed our consideration of the judgment to which the Deputy is referring - we are looking at what it means for our arrangements, such as our capacity to respond to patient safety incidents of whatever form and in whatever way - we might conclude that some additional legislation, which might include additions to the legislation here, might be necessary. That is all I am signalling.

I will comment on the substance of the point the Deputy is making. He is factually correct in his references to the terminology that was used in the judgment. I will outline my sense of how I would characterise it. The Minister has said in his public statements on this matter that he fully respects the decision of the court in all of this, as indeed does the Department. It means that the Minister's sole investigative power which is set out in legislation - the section 9 power - is rendered inoperable, in effect, from our point of view. I am giving the Deputy my assessment of things as they stand, rather than a legal judgment. We are going through the process of analysing the judgment properly. The conditions we would have to satisfy to activate the Minister's section 9 power would almost require us to have the outcome of an investigation available to us before commencing the investigation.