Vol. 537 No. 5
351 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will outline the precise issues which may cause a conflict of interest for two members of the Laffoy Commission, as referred to in correspondence from him to Deputy Gay Mitchell of 24 May 2001. [16968/01]
The potential for a conflict of interest amongst some members of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse arises because one of the members, currently on secondment to the commission, is an employee of one of the health agencies referred to in the vaccine report and a second member has a part-time consultancy appointment with the same body, hence the need to expand the membership of the current commission. This potential for conflict of interest only arose following the referral of the vaccine trials report to the commission because of the reference in the report to the health agency concerned, which, prima facie, had an involvement in one of the trials dealt with in the vaccines report.
The proposed expansion of membership will facilitate the commission in investigating the vaccines report while avoiding giving rise to any potential for a conflict of interest.
Once the commission's membership is expanded, a division of the investigation committee, to deal with the vaccines trials report, can be established without comprising either of the two existing members referred to above. That division of the investigation committee will then be empowered by the combined operation of section 11(6) of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Act, 2000, and the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Act, 2000 (Additional Functions) Order, 2001, to inquire into the vaccines report, to make determinations, to prepare a report and to furnish the report to the commission which will then be published.
Question No. 352 answered with Question No. 348.
