Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 May 2018
172. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health to set down the number of non-disclosure agreements the HSE has entered into since 2016; the general health topic of the contract; the geographical area of the person involved; and if he was informed of each contract agreed. [20286/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe State Claims Agency has advised that it settles very few claims on behalf of the HSE which are subject to a confidentiality agreement with the exception of cases settled through mediation. Part of the process of mediation is that parties are bound by a strict confidentiality provision contained in the mediation agreement. In the very rare case that the Agency agrees a confidentiality proviso, it is usually because of some extremely sensitive, controversial or disputed element of a claim which may be requested by either party.
The Agency does not formally record, on its IT system, the fact that any individual settlement is bound by a confidentiality clause. Therefore, this information is not readily available to my Department.
