Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I congratulate Deputy Timmins on the timely tabling of the Good Samaritan Bill. This legislation will have a positive impact if it concentrates legal minds and the minds of those in the voluntary sector. It will greatly assist people in the way they react when called upon to give assistance at a crucial point.

Ireland was a more compassionate country when it was not as affluent as it is today. When I was first elected to this House, people were more compassionate to each other and the Good Samaritan Bill addresses this. The manner in which people interact has changed from an understanding of the decent thing to do to a shrug of the shoulders. This has major consequences for people in certain circumstances. If the Bill had been published 20 or 30 years ago, no one would have been concerned about helping a person in difficulty, irrespective of conditions. A bond of goodness existed in all people but because of the way we live and the nature of human interaction in this era, that bond has been lost.

Many will say they fared badly by their well intentioned intervention. They may think people did the wrong thing. If this attitude has seeped into society, enacting a Bill may not change it. Nonetheless, this legislation is a vital measure to assist the voluntary sector to do what has been taken for granted. The first responder scheme, to which Deputy Timmins referred, has been running in Mountbellew for some years. It is excellent but I do not have time to speak on it. Would it not be a disaster if people refused to join this movement because they did not think they were legally covered? This is the central theme of this debate.

The Irish Nurses Organisation received a brief from an eminent barrister. A professional nurse referred to driving to Dublin and seeing a crashed car. As the nurse was about to help an ambulance arrived. The nurse continued on the journey but questioned if that was correct or if it would have been better to stop. The barrister responded that under Irish criminal law, no nurse is obliged to stop at the scene of an accident. In some countries it is a crime for nurses, doctors and paramedics to refuse to stop at the scene of an accident, even when off duty. Ireland is not one of these countries.

What if no ambulance had been there? The answer was that the same holds true — even if there is no one else around for miles, no law requires one to be a good samaritan. The next question was, am I ethically obliged to stop? Most nurses would feel obliged to stop to see if they could help, but An Bord Altranais has no specific rule about acting as a good samaritan. Finally, the question was asked if one could go to jail for refusing to stop, be found guilty of misconduct or be sued for anything else. The answer given was that one cannot be sued for refusing to stop. To succeed in a case like that, it would have to be shown that one owed the injured party a duty of care.

The Minister can see where we are coming from, that there is a possibility that someone who performs a good act could be held liable in court.

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