Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

I have a difficulty with that because there can be a timeframe involved. We are discussing people's livelihood and reputation. If someone loses trust in his or her doctor, it is quite difficult for that trust to be won back. If a person makes a complaint that is completely without grounds because it is based on some offence that has nothing to do with the practice of medicine, he or she could still argue that the complaint has been put forward and that the Medical Council should pursue it. The council may decide that the complaint is frivolous and without foundation. However, it will still be obliged to consider the complaint and it can take time to do so. In the interim, the medical practitioner who is the subject of the complaint would be in a vulnerable position.

A certain security would be provided if a complaint could not be received or considered by the Medical Council because it did not adhere to the requirements of the legislation. It would prevent crazy people from making complaints to the council on all sorts of grounds if it was possible to check an offence against the list provided in the legislation. If an offence is clearly disconnected from the practice of medicine, a complaint should be immediately thrown out.

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