Dr. Gabriel Scally:

There was one further question about implementation, which is a subject on which I am keen. I have seen too many reports with lists of recommendations that are still gathering dust. I was part of the Madden commission which looked at issues of clinical governance some time ago. Plenty of those good recommendations are still awaiting attention.

I was cognisant of trying to keep my recommendations to a reasonable number, and I did my best to do so. I am also keen on the implementation, which needs external scrutiny, as I stated in the foreword of my report. The Minister has asked me to carry out that scrutiny after three months to see how the construction of the implementation plans is going.

I made a promise to the women and their relatives that I will not disappear on this. I take these issues extraordinarily seriously, which is why I have spent the past four or five months working extraordinarily hard with my team to deliver this report. My team and I very much appreciate the members' complimentary remarks. We have not worked this hard just to walk away and let the report sit there. We will be as engaged in the process as we can be within the limits of what I am asked to do by the Minister to ensure implementation takes place, and the committee can be assured of that.