Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

I would like to ask some questions on the findings of the report on the practices at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. I welcome the Tánaiste's decisions to meet representatives of the women who suffered at the hands of Dr. Neary and to establish a compensation scheme. I am sure she recognises that the Government does not have a good record on compensation schemes. Almost 18 months have passed since we were told that elderly people who were illegally charged for long-term care would get their money back, but we are still waiting for the relevant legislation. When will the legislation that is needed to establish a compensation scheme for the women involved in the Neary case be brought to the Cabinet? How does the Tánaiste intend to decide who will be responsible for the payment of such compensation? That the Government's record in this regard is not good is clear when one considers its handling of the redress scheme for people who were mistreated in residential institutions. Will the women who suffered at the hands of Dr. Neary have to wait for agreement to be reached between the Department and the hospital authorities, or will they be compensated in advance of such an agreement? That question needs to be answered.

I would like to ask the Tánaiste about the serious implications of an issue that was mentioned in the report on the Neary case. The report raised doubts about current practice in other hospitals in peripheral areas. Does the Government intend to carry out a full assessment of services in public and private hospitals throughout the country? Such an assessment is necessary if we are to ensure that women can access proper care and are not subject to practices which are damaging their health. A few months have passed since the religious ethos interfered with the care of a cancer patient in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, which is hardly a peripheral hospital. What are the Tánaiste's plans for conducting a full assessment throughout the country to ensure that best practice prevails? I suggest that the report on the Neary case be referred, after it is debated in the House next Wednesday, to the Joint Committee on Health and Children to ensure that its extensive findings are the subject of ongoing scrutiny.

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