James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I wish to clarify something for the Minister. There is no issue around the medical or legal situation as regards what happens if there are side effects from the vaccine for someone. The medical, legal problem is that if I as a GP accept these vaccines and vaccinate patients, there is an inferred contract between the HSE, me and the people at risk. If I fail to contact all those at risk, which I may not be in a position to do, I could be sued by one of those individuals for failure to contact him of her if he or she gets swine flu and develops serious complications. That is the consideration and doctors wish to be reassured on that point.

There was no contact between one of the main GP organisations, the IMO, and the HSE from July until late September. That is extraordinary, given that GPs were supposed to deliver this. The Irish College of General Practitioners are acknowledged as the group to speak to about standards and quality but the IMO deals with this sort of logistical problem. Can the Minister confirm if there was an internal memo from her Department to the HSE not to engage with the IMO? Can she also confirm that an offer was made privately to the HSE that GPs would vaccinate free of charge if the HSE would organise the clinics and that this offer was not taken up?

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