Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have similar concerns as Deputy Shortall. There are countless situations where there will be attempts to complain that we are dealing with a different situation now than previously, that there are different responsibilities and that different people are responsible for what happened in the beginning. There is no excuse at all. I do not cast blame on the Minister of State and I believe that the system must answer for itself. In fact, the system in some cases can work very effectively and can answer for itself. Things may happen, things may be brought to public attention and things are dealt with. In other situations, on the basis of real advice, nothing ever happens on the basis that some day the guilt is implied or otherwise.

We have had recent experiences, and members will know more about them next week, whereby members of the public make complaints about things that are not going in accordance with what they see as the norm, and where there is no responsibility taken seriously, where people know when something is going wrong, have been alerted to the fact that something is going wrong and nothing happens again. The question at issue is whether nothing is allowed to continue to not happen, and to prevail in that after the transition and I think that there is a danger that that might happen. People have done it before, and people have done it several times, where in order to protect people various people object to publications etc. on the basis that there is implicit guilt in reports.

To my mind, whatever the feelings of people are, if there is a situation developing where the rights of the individual are seriously undermined or abused, and people of a vulnerable nature are abused, and people are not dealt with in the way that they should be dealt with by anybody, by an individual or individuals, or institutions then we have a duty, a job and a responsibility, as members of the health committee, to respond to it even though others may not think that the response is necessary. We must do so even though others may feel that we cannot do anything because there are legal implications here and so do nothing. We cannot have a situation like that ongoing and going forward, we certainly cannot have it. I completely agree with the points on that issue made by Deputy Shortall. I hope that we do not have to go back again because even as we speak these things are happening so I do not in any way impugn the Minister of State in this regard. The Minister of State is making every effort to deal with, control and take account of what is happening but there are those who do not and who defy the institutions, such as this committee, to do anything about it. We cannot allow that to continue.