Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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341. To ask the Minister for Health if alternative dispute resolution professionals such as mediators will be asked to present to or work with the expert group on alternatives to court in clinical negligence claims in order to give their views on the way in which alternative dispute resolution processes might work in medical negligence cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39458/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Government agreed in June this year to the establishment of an Expert Group to review the law of torts and the current systems for the management of clinical negligence claims. They agreed that High Court Justice Charles Meenan would chair the Group which would advise on whether there are alternative mechanisms to the current court process for resolving clinical negligence and personal injury claims.

Judge Meenan's Expert Group will especially examine the system from the perspective of the person who has made the claim to explore if there is a better way to deal effectively yet more sensitively with certain cases. In this process the Group will also look at the impact of tort legislation on the overall patient safety culture and open disclosure.

The terms of reference for this work are:

a) review the law of torts from the perspective of the management of clinical negligence and personal injury claims in order to assess the effectiveness of the legal framework and to advise on and make recommendations on what further legal reforms or operational changes could be made to improve the current system;

b) consider whether there may be an alternative mechanism to the court process for resolving clinical negligence claims, or particular categories of claims, particularly from the perspective of the person who has made the claim. To do this, the Group will examine whether a mechanism could be established which would deal more sensitively and in a more timely fashion with catastrophic birth injuries, certain vaccine damage claims, or with claims where there is no dispute about liability from the outset. It will also examine whether an alternative dispute resolution mechanism or a no-fault system would be effective in some cases;

c) examine the role of the HSE in addressing the problems encountered by persons involved in clinical negligence claims and addressing the health needs of persons affected by clinical negligence, with consideration given to whether particular care packages could be made available for persons with specific injuries, e.g. cerebral palsy following birth;

d) examine the role of the State Claims Agency in managing clinical negligence claims on behalf of the HSE to determine whether improvements can be made to the current claims management process;

e) consider the impact of current tort legislation on the overall patient safety culture, including reporting on open disclosure.

In July this year, Judge Meenan issued a press statement and invited submissions from the public and other relevant parties on the Group's terms of reference. It received 39 submissions from interested parties which will inform the deliberations of the Group during the course of its work. I expect that the Group will examine mediation as part of its work on alternative mechanisms. The Group met for the first time on 5 September to commence its work and I look forward to receiving Judge Meenan's Interim Report after three months and his final report in February 2019.