Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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560. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality what steps her Department has taken to implement the recommendations of the report the Working Group on medical negligence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34402/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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A number of the recommendations in the Meenan Report are dependent on the introduction of a pre-action protocol for clinical negligence cases. Justice Plan 2023 commits to legislating for new pre-action protocols in respect of clinical negligence to encourage early resolution of allegations of negligence, promoting timely communications between parties and reducing the number of clinical negligence actions which are brought.

Enactment of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 will correct an anomaly in earlier legislation and allow for regulations to be made under Part 15 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 for the introduction of a pre-action protocol relating to clinical negligence actions.

The pre-action protocol is to include requirements that must be complied with by the parties to clinical negligence actions before such actions are brought and will address issues such as access to medical records.

Preparatory work for the introduction of a pre-action protocol for clinical negligence actions is ongoing between my Department and the Office of the Attorney General, and following further consultation with relevant stakeholders the regulations will be finalised and enacted later this year.