James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In principle, I have no issue whatsoever with what the Deputy is suggesting. I am exploring ways of getting the law out of this in terms of the adversarial element and looking at the New Zealand process where the maximum amount paid out is €100,000. It seeks to remedy the effects of the misadventure from the patient's point of view so that the person is supported in the community. Much of the concern here is that we have not, perhaps, supported people who have catastrophic injuries, cerebral palsy and other conditions in a manner in which we could and should support them. If the money was diverted into the community service to support people, they would not feel the need to go to court as much as they do.

The other area for which we have to legislate is around the issue of ongoing payments rather than one big lump sum at the beginning. Clearly, it is not possible to predict with certainty how well somebody will progress or how long they might survive. All of these issues are being looked at by my Department. An area I am particularly concerned about is vaccination. Vaccines are given in good faith, they are produced in good faith and are taken in good faith, yet we know that in certain instances people will have bad reactions. I believe we should support those people, not force them to go to law for compensation.

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