Mary Henry (Independent)

The Minister of State's response makes good sense. However, the House has on previous occasions expressed concern regarding notorious cases in which none of the individuals concerned made a complaint, whether due to embarrassment about complaining about someone they trusted or for other reasons. The health boards were in the position — I do not know what the position is since their abolition — to initiate barring orders and so forth if a matter was believed to be getting out of hand, for instance, in circumstances in which a woman repeatedly makes complaints against her husband, only to withdraw them.

While I accept the logic of the Minister of State's argument, perhaps he or his officials could devise a way to deal with issues of this nature when they arise. There have been notorious cases in the medical profession in which it was well known that certain individuals were behaving improperly, yet no one complained. This is a difficult issue and perhaps it does not come within the scope of the Bill. Perhaps we are seeking to protect people from themselves too much. A problem arises, however, when one cannot find anyone to make a complaint against a person behaving in a professional matter, even when it is widely known. It is even more difficult to find complainants in small localities than in cities.