Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

I note the Tánaiste apologised to victims at the publication of the Drogheda hospital report and I welcome that. Will the Taoiseach apologise on behalf of the Government to the trauma experienced by victims of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital which has been documented comprehensively through the publication of the Judge Harding Clarke report?

Does the Taoiseach accept that this report raises fundamental questions for the Government? Is it not shocking and bizarre that 20 times the national average of caesarian peripartum hysterectomies continued to be performed in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda for 25 years before any professional raised a concern? Is it not a terrible reflection on the State that it took a midwife who had been trained outside the State to blow the whistle on this saga of trauma and malpractice? Is there not a grave onus on the Government to quickly make some amends to the victims for years of failure by the State to properly inspect and regulate the medical profession and for the irreversible damage done to dozens of patients who have sought justice for many years?

I urge the Taoiseach to indicate the Government's willingness to set up a redress board to provide crucial justice to the victims mutilated in that Drogheda hospital. Will he alleviate some of the distress of the 44 or so patients whose files have been stolen by placing the onus on the hospital to say it carried out each operation properly, rather than placing the burden of proof on the distressed patients?

The report recommends various legislation. It calls for a wide-ranging medical practitioners Bill. This Bill was promised in 2004 and 2005 and it is on the list again for 2006. Will the Taoiseach give the publication date of that legislation? Will he also indicate whether he will take on board the need for legislation for whistleblowers. The scandal of Leas Cross would not have come out but for media reports. It is obvious we need legislation on whistleblowers.

The report makes clear that we need legislation to protect the medical records of patients in these circumstances. That legislation needs to be documented carefully so that the information will not be privy to freedom of information requests and will be kept sacrosanct for any need that may arise in the future. Will the Taoiseach act on the need for the legislation recommended in the report and particularly on the need for a redress board? Anything else will not be adequate.

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