James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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516. To ask the Minister for Health if the period allowable for compensation claims for negligence within the health service will be extended from two to five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7140/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The current limitation period, in respect of a clinical negligence action, is 2 years from the date of incident giving rise to the claim or the date of knowledge i.e. when the injured person first learnt that his/her injury was related to the clinical negligence event.

I understand that Part 15 of the Legal Services Regulation Act, 2015, which provides for a pre-action protocol for use in clinical negligence cases, is set to amend the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act, 1991 in respect of clinical negligence actions by increasing the current 2 year limitation period to 3 years. This follows a recommendation made by the Working Group on Medical Negligence and Periodic Payments in 2012 while also being intended to enable potential claimants to engage in the new pre-action protocol process. Preparations for the commencement of Part 15 and the issue of the relevant regulations by the Minister for Justice and Equality are at an advanced stage.