James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 30:

In page 55, to delete lines 33 to 42 and in page 56, to delete lines 1 to 14 and substitute the following:

"62. —(1) The chief executive officer shall, as soon as practicable but not later than 30 days after a complaint is referred under section 61 to the Fitness to Practise Committee, give notice in writing to the registered nurse or registered midwife the subject of the complaint of the following:

(a) the referral of the complaint to the Fitness to Practise Committee;

(b) the opportunity for the nurse or midwife, or his or her representative, to be present and to defend the nurse or midwife at the hearing;

(c) the opportunity for the nurse of midwife to request that some or all of the hearing be held otherwise than in public if the nurse or midwife can show reasonable and sufficient cause;

(2) The chief executive officer shall, as soon as practicable after a complaint is referred under section 61 to the Fitness to Practise Committee, give notice in writing to—

(a) the registered nurse or registered midwife the subject of the complaint of the nature of the matter that is to be the subject of the inquiry, including the particulars of any evidence in support of the complaint, and

(b) any witnesses who may be required to give evidence at an inquiry (including, where appropriate, the complainant) of the opportunity for the witness to request that some or all of the hearing be held otherwise than in public if the witness can show reasonable and sufficient cause;

(3) The chief executive officer shall give notice in writing to the".

On Committee Stage, an amendment was accepted in regard to the chief executive officer having to notify the nurse or midwife and witnesses of certain information. The amendment included a time-limit of 30 days. It has been brought to my attention that the inclusion of a 30 day limit is a matter of serious concern in regard to section 62, subsections (2)(a) and (2)(b). Subsection (2)(a) effectively requires that the notice of inquiry and book of documents be prepared and sent out within the 30 day timeframe. The book of documents includes all the documents it is proposed to rely on at the inquiry and is similar to the book of evidence in a criminal court case. This can take considerable time, needs to identify all the records and to examine all records and can include the requirement for production orders. Subsection (2)(b) relates to subsection (2)(a) in that witnesses might only be identified when all the relevant documents are examined.

Given that the 30 day time-limit is unachievable for some subsections and the very serious risk that if the time stipulation was not adhered to it would be grounds for judicial review with a high likelihood of success on the part of the nurse or midwife and consequent collapse of the case against the nurse or midwife, I propose this amendment, which will split the notification into two parts, one which is subject to the 30 day time-limit and the other which is not.

The amendment provides that the chief executive officer will notify the nurse or midwife within 30 days, first of the referral of the complaint to the Fitness to Practise Committee, second of the opportunity for the nurse of midwife or his or her representative to defend the nurse or midwife at the hearing and third of the opportunity for the nurse or midwife to request that the hearing be held otherwise than in public.

The chief executive officer, as soon as is practicable, will give the nurse or midwife the nature of the matter, including the evidence, that is, the book of documents which includes all the evidence that will be used in the hearing. The chief executive officer will also notify any witnesses of the opportunity to request that the hearing be held otherwise than in public.

I urge Deputies to support this amendment.

See this speech in context