Results 6,241-6,260 of 34,779 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: Obviously 90% of the cases under the State Claims Agency are clinical cases. Another prominent case would be that of Louise O'Keeffe which was decided in the European Court of Human Rights. In the course of similar cases the agency had written to people to withdraw their actions after the matters were decided in the Irish courts. Some did withdraw but some went to court. The State Claims...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: To return to the clinical cases, the Comptroller and Auditor General said he was concerned about how long it was taking to deal with cases. The lifetime of each claim was measured from the date it is recorded on the State Claims Agency's computer. Is that the date the agency was made aware of the adverse finding or what date is it?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: A legal claim?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: Will Mr. Breen please repeat that? The date of resolution is which date?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: So it is the final completion, after admitting liability or earlier?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: Would the agency have paid out the award in the meantime?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: When we look at the chart on page 2 of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, it shows the paediatric cases since 2008 have stretched from an average period of just over three years to well over five years, mental health issue cases have gone from two years to five years and gynaecological claims have gone the same way. The figures on the chart are going in the wrong direction.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: Mr. Breen has said that only 3% of claims go to court so that should not affect this so much. What about the 97% of cases? I would like to separate the cases that go to court versus those that do not. Only 3% go to court, so let us talk about the 97%. I am sure the chart on page 2 includes the 97% and is primarily based on them. Therefore, the issue of court dates should not apply to the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: These cases are still taking a very long time, without court appearances.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: I would have said that should be part of the agency's risk management process. It should have a role in shortening the length of time the system takes to deal with a case. The HSE sends X-rays abroad to be read routinely. It sends them to America, for example, from several counties.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: Why then does Mr. Breen say there are only three available?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: I will make a few other general remarks. At 1 January 2011, the agency's outstanding liability was €999,000 million and now it is €1.2 billion. The estimated liability has gone up 36% in the past three years. Mr. Breen has said that the agency's main objective is to ensure the expenses relating to the management of cases are contained. Another objective is to work with the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: It is increasing.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: I am looking at the figures.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: Some people feel these are only notional savings, because they see the bill rising all the time. I accept that theoretically the agency paid less than it might have paid, but that was not an actual saving.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: Let us move on. Will Mr. Breen separate the figures for us? He gave us a figure of 3%. How many cases went to court or were resolved in the years under review, either in 2012 or 2013? How many cases were settled outside court? What was the average cost of the awards in court versus those negotiated without going to court? What are the average legal costs for going to court versus not...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: I am looking for numbers not percentages.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: I am looking for details for in court and outside of court.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: That amounts to approximately 12.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Government Debt
Chapter 28 - Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
Chapter 29 - Clinical Indemnity Scheme
2012 Annual Report and Accounts - National Pensions Reserve Fund (13 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: What was the average award of the 12 cases which went to court versus the average settlement reached in cases that did not go to court? I am trying to establish whether there is a significant difference. Is it costing the agency more to go to court? I will come to the legal costs in a moment.