Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to make a short contribution to this debate, one of the most important we have had in the House for some time. There is an underlying consensus in the observations of Members in the range of contributions from both sides of the House.

The starting point for an examination of the issues that arise from the traumatic cases that took place in Drogheda, County Louth, is to consider the plight of the women who have been traumatised and severely affected by the unnecessary hysterectomies carried out over a long period in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Let us consider the trauma of the individuals concerned and their families. The trauma of the wider family network must also be considered. We must also bear in mind the personal loss of the individuals involved. In some cases women may have had one child and have planned to have additional children but they were unable to fulfil their ambitions in this regard due to the unnecessary operations carried out in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. A high emotional price was paid by the individuals involved during the protracted 20-year period.

We have an opportunity today to pay tribute to the resilience, tenacity and hard work of those involved in Patient Focus in representing the interests of those directly affected. A number of people co-ordinated the campaign and worked diligently to identify those women who were severely affected. They also worked closely with all the public representatives of all the different parties in the north east. They are to be congratulated on their endeavours.

We also have an opportunity to pay tribute to that most courageous person — the midwife whose conscience told her that the practices in the hospital were unacceptable and who was no longer prepared to allow them to continue. She decided to do what should have been done much earlier and reported what was happening.

I welcome the Tánaiste's announcement on the establishment of a compensation structure for those who have been severely affected. I also welcome her decision to involve Judge Harding Clark who has examined each individual case over the period in question. She is in the best position to make the necessary recommendations on redress.

We must ensure that the unsatisfactory decision making which this inquiry has revealed is never repeated in our health service. Above all else, the case proves that even the most confident, able and highly motivated of individuals is not infallible. Humanity is revealed with all its foibles and weaknesses. This case graphically illustrates the dangers attached to insufficient cross-checking and scrutiny at every level of decision making in our health service. Some of the Tánaiste's announcements today clearly emerge from the manifestation in the report of the serious errors that were made. Let us hope these announcements will result in a template for a more open, accountable, balanced and trustworthy health service.

Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital has been in a pivotal position in terms of the delivery of health services in County Louth and the north east region in general for many years. Its reputation has taken a severe battering in this case, which may be proven to be unfair in the long run. The hospital is needed by the growing population in County Louth, County Meath and further afield. The HSE and the Department of Health and Children must set in train a process to re-establish public confidence in the hospital's provision of health care. No doubt the HSE will reflect on the recommendations in the Harding Clark report and resolve to restore public trust as quickly as possible.

We all welcome the Tánaiste's decision to set up the national perinatal epidemiology centre in Cork. This is a welcome move that is designed to reassure the public which is punch drunk from what it has read and gleaned from this report. It is the minimum necessary to make a start on rebuilding trust in our health service.

Times have moved on and some of the legislation on the Statute Book requires updating. A revision of the legislation relating to medical practitioners is due. The Ireland of 2006 is different to the Ireland of the 1940s or 1950s and there is an obvious need to update legislation in this area. The Tánaiste has clearly indicated her intention to introduce new legislation or amend existing legislation to consolidate the position and update many of the practices on which the health service is based. We must ensure that the balance of accountability in the health service is restored and that we have the necessary equilibrium within that matrix of decision making.

There is no place for misguided collegiality in situations such as the one under discussion. It emerges from the report that hospital consultants are human and errors can occur in maternity or other hospital units. The report outlines the importance for all cases to be open to examination and where practices are found to be unsatisfactory they must be rooted out as quickly as possible. We require a new safety culture in our health service. A culture of openness is required, in addition to an oversight mechanism for the analysis of clinical practice by the health service.

A heavy price has been paid by the unfortunate women who were caught up in this sorry saga over the 20-year period. As legislators we must learn lessons from this episode. We must ensure it will never happen again and underpin this in our legislative framework. Today is as good a day as any to make a start on that resolution.

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