Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am taking on the adjournment on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children.

I am aware of the recent publicity surrounding the issuing of a letter by solicitors on behalf of the Mater hospital in the context of a book written by one of its former patients. The Department is advised by the HSE that the hospital is not pursuing a legal action against the patient in question. The hospital accepts the right of a patient to highlight what they perceive to be inadequacies in the service and acknowledges the entitlement of the patient to express opinions regarding the treatment received as a patient in the hospital. The HSE has advised that the hospital's solicitors have written to the publishers pointing out what the hospital sees as a number of factual inaccuracies and misstatements contained in the book and asking that those inaccuracies and misstatements be corrected in the next edition.

This course of action is being pursued by the Mater hospital in its own right as a voluntary hospital. Neither the Department nor the Health Service Executive is party to communications between the hospital and the publishers. The Department is further advised that any costs arising from the course of action being taken by the hospital will be paid out of its own resources, not out of any moneys provided by the Exchequer.

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