Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Mr. O'Brien understands why there is such a high degree of scepticism surrounding all of this. At the heart of this, there is a real lack of accountability. At the end of the day, we are discussing the lives of two people whom I have not met and do not know. I am sure this is a very distressing time for their families, as I am sure it has been for many years and not just now. Some of my colleagues know much more about this case than I do. Considering some of what we have heard, I do not want to know any more of the finer details of it. All we are hearing today is that Mr. O'Brien can go and work on certain parts but he cannot go and work on other parts.

I spent four years as a youth worker before I became a Deputy. We were always told that the basic rule in cases where we believed a young person was in danger of self-harm or being hurt was to report the matter up the line straight away, not tomorrow. It is the job of the manager to take action and if he or she does not do it, he or she is then held accountable. I have a feeling the Health Service Executive has a different understanding of the word "accountable" from other organisations because all I am hearing today is that nobody has been held responsible for this yet.