Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

The concept of this Bill is to give some comfort and security to people whose natural instinct is to help a fellow human being in trouble. Nobody doubts that as a society, we are prone to litigation. An increasing minority see litigation as a way of making a fast buck. Unfortunately, a growing number of people involved in the legal profession stand to make a great deal of money by encouraging this approach.

I wish to deal with one specific issue, the perception, or in some cases the reality, whereby people feel that getting involved in a humanitarian situation may leave them vulnerable to claims by the person they are trying to help. Doctors and nurses are in the front line of this dilemma. If they decide to help someone taken ill at a match, on the side of the street, on a plane or on a train they run the risk of being sued by that person. The conditions in which they might have to work or the equipment available may not be ideal. In these circumstances they are vulnerable to being sued. It boils down to the fact that while there may not be cases at this time, there are situations whereby people might not get involved because of the fear of being taken to court.

Apart from this, another situation is evolving throughout rural Ireland. In my constituency, the South Doc and Shannon Doc systems were introduced. For a large part of the weekend many people in the area do not have emergency doctor cover. Crises have occurred at weekends since the introduction of these systems. Now that volunteers are prepared to take part in schemes such as the one which Deputy Timmins initiated in County Wicklow, we should make it clear that legislation protects them and they can participate without fear of putting their own careers in jeopardy.

The litigation system and the cost of insurance for professional people such as doctors and nurses mean they might hesitate in circumstances where they could be of help to a person in trouble. I am aware of a recent case where a person in Charleville suffered a heart attack and the only person available during that weekend was a doctor who was at least an hour and a half away in Fermoy. On the other side of the border in Kerry, a person collapsed at a wedding. The nearest doctor to him was at the far end of the Dingle Peninsula. The situation is changing and we must examine the possibility of off duty nurses, chemists, first aid fire officers and ambulance drivers having the equipment, authority and protection to intervene in a crisis. There is no point in stating that litigation has not been taken in the past. The fact that it has not been taken does not indicate people avoided getting involved because of fear of litigation.

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