Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is a good point actually. Let us just look at that and let us look at collective responsibility of Ministers for the non-commencement of section 32B of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004, as introduced by the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015, which would have prevented some of the difficulty in this regard, as well as the non-commencement of section 2 of the Civil Liability (Amendment) Act in terms of periodic payments to victims. Both Ministers have done splendid jobs in pushing that agenda. We had the announcement last week of the package of measures, which was welcomed by our two guests yesterday evening on which, as of today, nothing has happened. They seem to be doing a great job at talking the talk but when it comes to walking the walk, it is about standing in for the shot, although, as an aside, they are conspicuous by their absence over the course of the past week where there has been a marked reduction in the number of shots or television appearances.

What changes have been made in Mr. Breslin and Dr. Holohan's approach to escalation? Another question relates to the assistant secretary for acute hospitals. The Department's statement of Thursday night last stated that the memos had gone to the chief medical officer's office and to acute hospitals. The latter is an assistant secretary's responsibility. Did he or she, whoever it is, ever say it to Mr. Breslin?