Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 November 2021
325. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Health the way, and the place in which, all information reported to his Department related to the operation of abortion, including incidents of adverse events, is being collated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58066/21]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, under section 20 of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, a notification of each termination of pregnancy carried out under the legislation must be sent, in a prescribed form, to the Minister for Health within 28 days of it being carried out. Section 20, subsections (3) and (4), require the Minister to prepare a report on the notifications received in a given year not later than 30 June the following year and thereafter to lay it before the Houses of the Oireachtas. This report may then be published.
In line with section 20 of the Act, therefore, the Annual Report on Notifications 2021 will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on or before 30 June 2022. No information on notifications received under the Act will be released until after that report has been laid.
The State Claims Agency hosts the National Incident Management System (NIMS) which is the principal source of national data on incident activity for the Irish public health service. Under the National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2000 State authorities are obliged to report adverse incidents promptly to the State Claims Agency (SCA). This allows the SCA, in conjunction with State authorities, to identify and analyse developing trends and patterns and to work with the State authorities concerned to develop and implement risk mitigation strategies. It is also important in the investigation of any subsequent claim.
