Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This is an incredibly serious issue. The Minister says it is more suitable for the Department of Health, and that may be the case. We respect that. However, this is the legislation before us now and it is the only legislative provision this Oireachtas will have the chance to consider in its lifetime. That is fair to say, based on the length of time it takes to get anything moving in here. The issues are far too serious when we consider some of the catastrophic incidents which have occurred in our health service, and the appalling pain and extra hardship that was put on families in trying to get access to information.

The Minister said that voluntary disclosure is the best way to deal with open disclosure. That viewpoint is not supported by evidence. It is an opinion, and the Minister is entitled to that opinion. There is a substantial body of evidence to say that in places like the UK the mandatory reporting mechanism has been successful. In the face of an organisation that is culturally challenged and instinctively covers up problems, I believe reporting has to be mandatory.

The Minister said that the Department of Health will immediately examine it. My response to that is that if it is so important and such a priority for the Department, why has that not been done already? These issues are not new. This legislation has been before the Houses for a long time now. There is a lethargy and a delay factor here, and in the years it will take to get the alternative legislation in place many people who could have benefitted from our proposals will miss out.

I return to the point we made that we met the Department in good faith. It was not acrimonious; there was a rational discussion between adults where we acknowledged that there is no magic wand and that our viewpoints were perfectly valid. There was no feeling that this would be subject to challenge so it could not be done. The Department said the committee had made the provision too broad and that we needed to distinguish between the incidents. That is what we have done. Our definitions are clear. They are linked to other HSE definitions and they are not definitive. The Minister would be still able to bring in regulations, so we will definitely be supporting the committee's original view. We are hoping that Fianna Fáil is still with us in this regard. It is very important.

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