Hayes solicitors LLP welcomes the publication by the Minister for Health of the Implementation Plan for the recommendations made in the report of the Interdepartmental Working Group chaired by Professor Rhona Mahony. We are pleased to see that many of the positive initiatives recommended by the Working Group are now progressing towards implementation. The report identified six strategic priorities to reduce the requirement for litigation in healthcare and to improve the litigation process for those taking this path. It also set out a comprehensive list of 30 recommendations that span a range of government departments and agencies.

Amongst the recommendations which are now stated to be for implementation before the end of 2025, are Pre Action Protocol regulations, regulations in relation to the discount rate and regulations in relation to Periodic Payment Orders.When combined, these welcome changes, together with the High Court Practice Directions introduced earlier this year, will bring about much needed and very significant improvement to the clinical litigation landscape.

It is heartening to see that the Implementation Plan also confirms concrete steps for the implementation of many of the Working Group’s recommendations which aim to reduce the occurrence of medical accidents, to enhance the response when harm occurs and crucially, to improve care for babies and introduce other maternity initiatives.

In this, the sixth article of our ‘Embracing Change’ series we are pleased to see that some of the important changes we have been calling for are about to be implemented and to see that the momentum for change and for reform of clinical litigation in Ireland is continuing to gather pace.

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