Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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523. To ask the Minister for Health the private firms indemnified by the State Claims Agency in the State; and the cost of this indemnification in the past five years. [26849/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The State Claims Agency (SCA) has a statutory remit to manage personal injury claims, including claims in respect of clinical negligence, on behalf of Delegated State Authorities (DSA’s) including the Health Service Executive.

The specific details relating to the Deputy's question have been provided to me by the State Claims Agency and are set out in the attached report. I have been informed by the State Claims Agency (SCA) that they do not currently provide indemnification to any private firms or enterprises. In the past, indemnification had been provided for obstetric-related claims against Mount Carmel (Dublin) and Bon Secours (Cork) hospitals for an agreed period under the Special Obstetrics Indemnity Scheme (SOIS). This scheme is in the process of wind-down as the two hospitals ceased the provision of obstetrical care and the SCA is currently managing legacy cases only as a result of this indemnification period.

The SCA also provides indemnification for a set of private clinics (e.g. Merrion Fetal Health, Merrion Fertility Clinic, Rotunda IVF-The National Fertility Centre) associated with public hospitals under the Clinical Indemnity Scheme.

The figures supplied in the report are extracted from the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and relate to expenditure on the SOIS over the requested five year period. The total cost over this period includes damages, legal fees and other expert costs.