Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In terms of inquests and the HSE, I have spoken to some families who said, and some of the families present stated it also, there was always an encouragement by the HSE to initiate court proceedings and seek compensation. The view that could be drawn is that by doing that, the very minute papers are served on the HSE, any internal investigations are suspended for that duration. Also, if one goes to the steps of the court, very often the HSE will pay out compensation without admission of liability, and therein the issue is parked forever and a day. Should we move swiftly to an open disclosure policy and ensure that the report and its recommendations are implemented quickly?

Finally, does Mr. O'Brien honestly believe that the HSE can implement the recommendations in the report or does he believe that some other outside agency or oversight body should be established to ensure that the HSE can conduct its affairs and bring about an orderly implementation of the recommendations, in view of the fact that many parts of the previous six reports were ignored?