Mr. Robert Watt:

It has arisen from a concern about the events that happen and from a desire, when the system does harm to people, to try to reduce the incidence of those events. There are obviously concerns from a financial point of view about the overall costs of this to the State, which are going up every year. Some of the projections suggest further significant increases in the costs. If we look at the contingent liability number the Deputy mentioned, it suggests the €461 million the Comptroller and Auditor General referenced will go up and up every year. It is a question of the system trying to be as safe as possible for patients and then when incidents happen to manage it as best we can on behalf of individuals and the State.