Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Chair and the committee. This has been a useful session. The various frustrations aired by members were new to me so I will set the record straight. I have been a member of Oireachtas committees for ten years, including in times of crisis across various sectors. I am a strong advocate of Parliament and the role of Parliament in holding Government to account and doing all the things these committees need to be doing. I am an advocate and defender of the rights of committees. At no point have I or the Department refused to appear before this committee. The Chairman and I spoke when Dr. Glynn and I were first invited and we agreed there were one or two days where it was not possible to attend. I made myself immediately available for the following week. That did not work for the committee. I then made myself immediately available for the week after that. The acting Chief Medical Officer, Department officials and many others have continued to make themselves available.

We need to be clear on this. On the Friday of the week before last, the Department received from the committee an invitation, which might have been sent on the Thursday evening, to me, the acting Chief Medical Officer and various other people to appear before it in three working days. I rang the Chairman immediately and we discussed the matter. I indicated that we were launching the winter plan the following day and, as such, it would be difficult for us to appear on that day, particularly with just three days' notice, but we would immediately make ourselves available again whenever the committee wanted. The day I was asked to be here was today. That date has been in my diary as such. We also made the other witnesses available. I refute in the strongest terms the suggestion, which has been repeatedly aired by members of this committee today, that anyone is not making themselves available and I would like that noted.