John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I wish to share time with Deputy Ó Caoláin. I welcome the women of Patient Focus to the Dáil and congratulate them on their courage and tenacity in pursuing this issue. They sought only truth and justice but their struggle is not yet over. We will have no closure, truth or justice until all the women who suffered can tell their story and be properly compensated.

I welcome the fine report from Judge Maureen Harding Clark and the clarity of its presentation, for which I thank her. The Tánaiste is familiar with the Department of Finance and is aware this Department controls the purse strings. I do not wish it to engage in insensitive penny pinching and I want the Tánaiste to bang the table and represent these women to ensure they are adequately compensated.

Although we refer to the victims of Mr. Neary and 129 Caesarean hysterectomies, what about the 42 victims of Dr. Lynch? All these people must be heard. It is incredible that three obstetricians could have examined this in detail and given Mr. Neary and others in the institution a clean bill of health.

The Tánaiste will be familiar with some of the stories not included in the report that have emerged. Stories of women who went in for minor treatment and had their ovaries removed are horrific. Such women have struggled with early onset of the menopause, health difficulties and suppression of their immune system. I will not belabour the point addressed by the previous speaker. These problems are due to the gross arrogance of certain people in the hospital. We cannot forget these victims. The Tánaiste's speech compared the victims' stories to a Gothic novel and I would compare it to a David Cronenberg film.

Let us discuss compensation. The Alison Gough case, in which compensation of €250,000 was reduced to €200,000 in the Supreme Court, remains the benchmark. Both the Government and Opposition believe this should be investigated. These events happened because of extreme arrogance and the abuse of power. It was a closed shop wherein the consultants were the dictators and instilled awe and fear. Like other speakers I salute the courage of the midwife who blew the whistle. These events are evidence that legislation to protect whistleblowers is required to protect those few people who have the courage to come out. The report states that this is a story set in a time of unquestioning submission to authority, whether religious or civil, when nurses and doctors were in abundant supply and permanent jobs were few and treasured. This is the pressure under which they worked.

The report examined the rate of Caesarean hysterectomy in other hospitals. The rate was one per 600 sections in the Coombe Women's Hospital, one per 405 sections in Holles Street, one per 42 sections in Drogheda and Mr. Neary's rate was one in 20 sections. This should have been sufficient to set off alarm bells.

I refer the Tánaiste to today's Irish Independent and ask her to listen because it is important. An article written by a constituent of mine, referred to recent statistics issued by the Irish maternity units. It states that the statistics for accelerated labour rates in first-time mothers are 14.7% in Letterkenny and 55% in the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street. The epidural rate is 12% in the Midlands Regional Hospital and 80% in Ballinasloe. The episiotomy rate is 46% in Tralee General Hospital and 7.8% in St. Finbarr's Hospital in Cork. These figures show the significant diversity which the writer maintains can only reflect the personal preferences of the obstetricians. They continue to call the shots.

Before other tragedies and difficulties occur I ask the Tánaiste to examine the way different hospitals operate. She should study those statistics and consider the reason that people can dictate in such a way and whether people are now keeping quiet, because there will be more difficulties if they are. It does not end here and solutions must be found. The Tánaiste is making some progress but many people are still in awe of these consultants.

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