Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 192: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, further to Question No. 231 of 31 January 2006, the cap on the extent of professional indemnity cover that is provided to consultants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6316/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The clinical indemnity scheme is based on the principle of enterprise liability. It therefore covers consultants employed in public hospitals for the treatment of their public and private patients in hospitals covered by the scheme. The cover is provided to the hospital concerned rather than to the individual consultant. This cover is unlimited.

The scheme does not extend to the treatment of patients outside public hospitals and associated clinics. Consultants who see patients in private hospitals, off-site clinics or consulting rooms must arrange and pay for their own professional indemnity cover. To maintain the cost of this cover at an affordable level, the Government decided in January 2004 that limits should be placed on the level of cover that consultants would be required to purchase. There is a general limit of €1 million for each claim. A lower limit of €500,000 for each claim was put in place for consultant obstetricians. In addition, the limit on claims against consultant obstetricians is subject to an annual aggregate annual limit of €1.5 million per individual. Following the findings of a study undertaken in 2005 by consultant actuaries to the clinical indemnity scheme, the Government decided to apply the €500,000 limit on individual claims, including the annual aggregate limit of €1.5 million to consultant neurosurgeons and consultant orthopaedic surgeons undertaking spinal surgery.

Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 193: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if consultants in public hospital must pay private medical insurance to look after private patients in public hospitals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6317/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Private patients in public hospitals are patients of the hospital as well as patients of the consultant treating them. As such, their treatment and care is covered by the clinical indemnity scheme. Consultants do not need to take out separate professional indemnity cover for this element of their practice. One of the objectives in establishing the clinical indemnity scheme was to eliminate the need for patients taking personal injury claims to name all the separate parties involved in their care in the claim. This measure will significantly reduce the legal costs involved in defending claims by eliminating the multiple parties on the defence side. It should also speed up the settlement of claims.