Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I put it to the Minister that the derogation process takes far too long. I put this point to him because this is what I am hearing from the staff, those front-line workers working in the system. The Minister has paid tribute to them. I cannot imagine how they are still coping in the hospital now. From the recent court case, we saw their workplace described as "impossible" and "horrendous". These people are heroes. I must put it to the Minister that he has let them down. It has taken four years for him to even decide to implement the review all of us were calling for. We have been calling for this review to be undertaken since the first day the Minister took up his portfolio but he has ignored us for four years.

In the meantime, 239 patients have died on trolleys. It is outrageous. The people of the mid-west want accountability from the Minister but he has not offered any so far.