Mary Henry (Independent)

I, too, thank the Minister for his thoughtful response. I have a question about one group of cases about which I am not clear and, again, they relate to the medical negligence sphere. As the Minister will be aware, the Medical Defence Union and the Minister for Health and Children are in dispute regarding historic obstetric claims. What is the position regarding claims for cases of obstetric cerebral palsy, which do not come before the courts for six years on average?

Senators O'Meara and Terry also raised the case concerning claims made by women in the Drogheda area who for many years did not know they had been injured. What is the position with regard to people with historic obstetric claims or those who do not realise they have an injury until many years after the event?