Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Devlin family for their presentation and the stories they recounted. It is a great privilege to be a member of this committee because every now and again members have an opportunity to meet people such as the Devlin family who share the trauma they have experienced. The joint committee makes decisions on health and submits recommendations to Ministers. The stories told by our guests were touching and moving. Conor and Paul are blessed in having such an extraordinary woman as their mother. As a nurse, she also has an insight into matters which other mothers would not know about.

Conor's comments about not having a place of his own in hospital where friends could visit him and he could talk on a one-to-one basis set alarm bells ringing in my head. A couple of weeks ago, I visited a presentation on the new national children's hospital at which the design team was announced. A group of young people attended and made a presentation on their experiences of hospital as teenagers. I am glad the new facility will have single rooms and rooms where young people such as Conor and Paul will be able to spend time together and will not have to put up with having a baby in a cot crying beside them or having to go to bed at the same time as younger children. These issues are very important. We must review and change the way in which the health system operates, especially for people who require long-term hospital care. These types of facilities should be available in all hospitals, although I accept that this may not be possible in the current circumstances.

Ms Devlin provided an excellent description of the health services and her constant battle to secure the services Conor needed, which involved knocking on and beating down doors. I thank Paul for his honesty. He opened a door for many of us who are aware of the experience of patients but may not understand what goes on outside of the that. The support Paul showed for his brother helped him to recover. I do not mean to be patronising but Paul and Conor are both handsome young men. If I had two lovely girls of their age, I would send them in their direction.