Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Okay. Other incidents have happened in the hospital and it takes so long for legal to find out what happens. There is a cost to that, when that money could be used otherwise if somebody says we got it wrong and should put our hands up, that it should have been identified and reported, that we could have helped faster and used the money being used on legal - which is rising in UHL in the last number of years of challenges - rather than going into the healthcare and staffing that is needed to build the hospital back to the number one hospital in Ireland. That is all I want.

I am not here to have a go directly at Professor Cowan, but she is the manager, boss and CEO. It is frustrating from the outside looking in. The management is in the firing line because they should have it structured in such a way that this happens. That is my major concern for UHL. I want it to grow and be the best training hospital. I want nurses and staff lining up outside the door saying they want to get in, but look at the statistics for nurse placements this year in colleges. They had to drop points all over to try to get people we need back into nursing and the caring system. That is something I want to build.

I have been in the hospital on numerous occasions. I was recently in the Mater hospital with a son of mine who had a spinal operation. I was looking at the different structures, backups and teams they had. They probably have more space and facilities than UHL.

What will the witnesses do about minor and major incidents and making sure a person who wants to report one will not be told they cannot report this or that person? It is for the betterment of the hospital and to make sure the hospital runs efficiently. It will bring down the number of legal challenges it will have. Will they look into that incident with the 18-year-old - we all know who we are talking about - to see can we get to a conclusion for that family?