Government should only use non-disclosure agreements in extreme circumstances — minister
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Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath has said he is “not a fan” of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) when the State settles legal actions with patients.
He said Government should only use them in extreme circumstances.
Responding to questions about how the State mistreated the late Vicky Phelan, Mr McGrath said it was pertinent to ask such questions, as her refusal to sign a nondisclosure agreement is what opened up this whole issue to public scrutiny.
Speaking to the , Mr McGrath said: “I'm not a fan of non-disclosure agreements. Myself, I believe in open government.”
He said there may be particular circumstances where based on legal advice that such clauses are proposed.
“But, I think the default position should be that they would not be applied by government or arms of government. That's my own personal view. So no, except in extraordinary circumstances that may apply from time to time,” he said.
Mr McGrath referred to reforms he is bringing forward in the areas of freedom of information and in improving the country’s protected disclosures regime.
“I think the country and the people we serve are best served when we have government that is open insofar as it possibly can be,” he said.
Asked if she felt her party had any regrets as to how Ms Phelan was treated, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys said on reflection “maybe we would have liked to fix things quicker”.
She said while there has been legitimate public anger around how the State failed Ms Phelan, these things are often much more complicated and much more difficult, especially when you get into the legal area.
Ms Humphreys said she was satisfied the patient safety bill will address a lot of the issues raised by the controversy. “I know that the final Scally report is due in a few weeks and we will act on that when it comes,” she said.