Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Section 40B states that the executive shall monitor and keep under review occurrences and developments concerning matters relating to its object and functions, as Deputy O'Sullivan said. It is a much broader remit than the specific attempt by the Bill to enable the independent review group to receive information via the Minister from the executive. It also provides that, without delay, it shall furnish the Minister with information regarding any such occurrence or development that, in the opinion of the executive, the Minister is likely to consider significant for the performance of his or her functions and as such the section has been very widely framed in order to capture all significant occurrences across the health system rather than having an exhaustive list in the legislation. For example, one could be dealing with patient safety, primary care or public health, as Deputy O'Sullivan suggested in the amendment, which states: "any such occurrence of development that is likely to give rise to a significant risk to public health."

Accordingly, acceptance of the amendment, while desirable in its own right, would simply raise the question of the need to specify more specific areas with the result that it might be inferred that any area not specified was not of significance. I am happy that the text in section 40B(1)(ii) provides for the eventualities the Deputy's amendment proposes to capture in an appropriate manner and, therefore, I am not disposed towards accepting the amendment.

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