Sean Barrett (Independent)

Yes, but I am trying to get at their malpractice. I will use my old analogy. If I did something wrong to a student in Trinity College Dublin, the lawyers would undoubtedly say that as an individual lecturer, I was not much of a mark. If they could prove I was acting on behalf of the Provost, that would look a little more promising, while if they could prove I was acting on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, they would be in real business. Does the exemption from the need to indemnify for professional malpractice leave the State wide open to the type of case mentioned? It is, perhaps, a far fetched case, but I am sure the lawyers would inquire. They would say it was not worth taking a case against the individual because he or she was not a good mark which I believe is the phrase lawyers use, but we have made the State a huge mark in terms of the entire national debt, whatever else we can borrow, promissory notes and so forth. Does it lead to the State being vulnerable that highly trained professionals who are handsomely rewarded by it and supposed to be of the same or higher professional standard as those in private practice are performing uninsured? I accept the Minister's point, but that is the danger.

I welcome the Minister's clarification about part-timers. It was brought to my attention the need to distinguish between when they were working for the State and when they were working for themselves and ensure we were not carrying any insurance burden for persons who worked half in and half out of the two systems. That is the purpose of the amendment. The Minister and I were asking exactly the same questions. In human medicine, the NTMA estimates that claims outstanding amount to €760 million. Ultimately they are borne by taxpayers who have declining and rather low average incomes. It has been a legal tradition in Ireland to transfer these burdens to the taxpayer, whom I think must have some protection, particularly in the present circumstances. That is the reason I tabled this amendment. I accept the Minister's point, and I will withdraw my amendment.

Professions must bear responsibility for their own standards, whether they work for the State or in private practice.