Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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733. To ask the Minister for Health the action his Department may take on the ever increasing cost of indemnity for hospital consultants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32828/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Hospital consultants working in the public health service have their professional indemnity covered by the State's Clinical Indemnity Scheme since 2004. Consultants working in full-time private practice and those with B* contracts which permit off-site practice must obtain indemnity cover from medical defence organisations. One of the medical defence organisations, the Medical Protection Society (MPS), which indemnifies the majority of consultants concerned, increased its membership subscription rates in Ireland from the beginning of July, 2014, by an average of 42%. The consultants must purchase their professional medical indemnity up to agreed financial limits or 'caps'. Professional medical indemnity is provided by the medical defence organisations. In the event that a claim for an adverse medical event against a consultant exceeds these caps, the excess is covered by the State's Clinical Indemnity Scheme.

Following a detailed assessment, Government agreed to extend the caps arrangements in 2013 for a period of five years. The Government also decided in July 2013 to adjust the cap annually in line with the Consumer Price Index. It is important to note that without the caps, indemnity subscription rates for consultants in private practice would have increased to a far greater extent than they have. The caps rates since 1 July, 2014 are:

- consultant obstetricians, neurosurgeons, and orthopaedic surgeons undertaking spinal surgery - €590,425 per claim as well as an annual aggregate limit of €1,771,275 per consultant;

- for all other specialties the limit is €1,180,850 per claim with no aggregate limit;

Officials in my Department have met representatives of the Medical Protection Society and also the Irish Hospital Consultants Association about this issue. The State Claims Agency commissioned an actuarial assessment of any proposed decrease in the caps rates, which, while of benefit to private consultants, would incur more costs for the State and this issue is being examined by my Department in conjunction with the State Claims Agency. At a time of huge financial pressure on the public health system any change to the caps arrangement must be carefully considered and a Government decision would be needed to effect such a change.