Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me the opportunity to raise this important issue. I have had the privilege of being a Member for three and a half years and he has been kind enough to assist me a number of times. This matter is by far the saddest and most profound that I have introduced to the House. I welcome the attendance of my friend and colleague, the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue. I know he will be sympathetic towards this case.

This is the story of Pierce Nowlan, a young baby who was born in the Coombe Hospital prematurely on 14 October 2002. He had a medical condition which required a minor procedure and was taken to Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children where he died on his second birthday, 14 October 2004. As the Ceann Comhairle is probably aware, his parents Jean and Stephen, as well as his paternal grandmother Phyllis, are in the Visitors Gallery. I am sensitive about their attendance and I am sure he would want me to welcome them. I assure them of my thoughts and prayers as I know this is a difficult situation for them. They are members of my community, and I wish to highlight their concerns and sense of upset with regard to this matter as sensitively as possible. It is important to show solidarity with the family and to try to help them in their quest for what they perceive as the need for justice and the need to establish the truth as to what happened to their baby. I have had much contact with the family in the last year and am aware of the high level of upset within both the family and the general community in respect of this case.

Many people will have seen the recent publicity highlighting the case in the media generally and particularly on television. The family gave a good interview on "Ireland AM" last Monday morning. The family members need assistance and ask the political system to help. They wanted me to note that they have met the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, and were satisfied with the meeting. However, they want action. At present they are going through the coroner process. They want to know why they cannot establish the full truth as to what happened to their baby, why the surgeon's report in its fullest form has not been made available to them or to the coroner, and why there is a restriction on the number of witnesses who can be called by the coroner. They have told me that the coroner has been sympathetic in that regard and have reminded me that 23 people were present in the operating theatre in Our Lady's Hospital, Crumlin, when their baby, Pierce, died. It is important that they gain access to the truth and to the information they seek.

On a political note, I tabled Questions Nos. 474 and 475 on 15 November 2005 on the need to reform the Coroners Act 1962 rather than on this specific case. Similar questions were also tabled by colleagues from the Green Party and Fine Gael. The Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism should convey a message to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, to the effect that there appears to be all-party support for a common approach to dealing with the business of the Coroners Act. I imagine the Minister, given his own experience, will understand that.

At present, the family is trying to highlight the need to expedite the process by which the new legislation will be brought before the Cabinet and to expedite its enactment. The coroner's court will then be able to act under the new legislation to provide the family with the answers it wants. This issue differs from the matters I normally raise in the House and it is important to support the Nowlan family. In his statement, I hope the Minister can assure the family that this case is seen in the serious light it deserves. The family members have not highlighted this issue simply for their own sake. While they are anxious to establish the facts pertaining to their case so that, without forgetting Pierce, they can get on with their lives, they have also made the point that other families may be similarly affected. This has been a brave act for the family members, particularly for Stephen and Jean. They wish to prevent this from happening to any other family and that, whatever about the trauma of losing a baby, this particular aspect will be cleared up. I appreciate the Ceann Comhairle's courtesy and thank him for providing me with this opportunity in the presence of the Nowlan family. I look forward to the Minister's reply.

See this speech in context