James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

What it comes down to is that, even with the latest problems, nobody expects the Minister to read mammograms, to be responsible for clinical decisions or to watch every person who is employed, but we expect her to take charge. When letters are written to her highlighting concern, the Minister should ensure they are looked after properly. Thoroughness and robustness should be real rather than a figment of the Minister's imagination, resulting in the disaster that occurred in Portlaoise. The manner in which women were treated arising from that is a further disaster.

The Minister stated on the news on Thursday evening that the first she knew about the issue was on the previous night, Wednesday, in preparing for parliamentary questions. As the parliamentary questions were taken on Wednesday, she must have known on Tuesday night, so what was that about?

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