Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

On Rebecca O'Malley, the answer is yes, the Government accepts all 15 recommendations.

The report of the independent review of the Barrington's case was published yesterday, as the House will be aware. That report confirmed that two women who were among the original ten cases referred to HIQA had their cancer diagnoses delayed potentially causing them serious harm. The review process did not identify any other women who had a missed or delayed diagnosis. The report found that of the 285 cases reviewed, in 118 cases it was the clinical and professional judgment of the review team that the level of clinical care was not always what it considered as appropriate. That is a quote from the report.

It also concluded that "their care did not meet the standards which would have been acceptable at their time of treatment". The Minister anticipates that the Medical Council, the regulatory body for the profession, will fully examine the findings of this report. It again highlights the need for the continued implementation, in both the public and private health care sectors, of the national quality assurance standards for systematic breast disease services which were approved last year by the Health Act. The standards will clearly have implications for private facilities, some of which have already ceased providing systematic breast services. A total of 16 public sector hospitals with low case volumes have now ceased providing breast care services.

The issue of safety in the delivery of health services lies at the heart of any care system which has the confidence of the people using those services. The Minister established the Health Information and Quality Authority in May last year. The process in which the regulatory regime such as that given to HIQA will be introduced first in the public sector, which is a feature of such developments in other jurisdictions. The extension of this type of monitoring and control to the private sector is not an easy matter and is considered very complex. The Minister has referred the matter to the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance. The commission is due to report in July, with the overall objective of developing clear and practical recommendations to ensure that quality and safety for patients is paramount throughout the entire health care system. The commission has been asked by the Minister to bring forward proposals that will provide for the licensing of all health care facilities, including private hospitals such as Barringtons.

A Cheann Comhairle, if I can just very briefly refer to my own statement today. I want to acknowledge what Deputy Kenny and Deputy Gilmore have said and confirm to Dáil Éireann and to my colleagues in this House that on 6 May I will, pursuant to the Constitution, place my resignation in the hands of the President. I believe it is in the best interests of the country and the Government that a new Taoiseach take charge and lead Ireland forward.

Today is not an end, in my view, it is a new beginning. It is with a sure faith in our shared future and with great hope and with no regret that I have come to that decision. I made that decision alone, with the sense of responsibility that this Republic charges all our citizens. I know that we will continue on the path of progress that marks Ireland out around the world and will surely mark this generation out in history.

Public service is a great privilege and a great honour. It is a great privilege and a great honour for everybody in this House, particularly for Members on all sides who have been office holders. It is a privilege and an honour I have enjoyed for over 30 years and been lucky to do so. I have been humbled by the responsibility and the trust that the people have placed in me. Today is not an occasion to give account of what I have done or, quite frankly, left undone. It is, rather, a fitting moment to say to Dáil Éireann and to the Irish people that I am humbled to have been entrusted for so long with so great a responsibility of leading my country. To have been chosen from my own community as a representative in this House, to have been called by successive Taoisigh to serve in government, to have been elected by the people on so many occasions and to have been elected here in this House on three occasions is an honour and responsibility beyond the capacity of any citizen to fully repay. All I want to say for myself today is that in all these years I have never ceased to try, to the utmost of my ability, to fully discharge those responsibilities to my community, the country and to this House.

The past 30 years have been times of great trials and great triumph for all of us on all benches of this House. For much of that time, the vision of a country that could one day prosper and be at peace seemed far off and almost impossible to maintain. Unemployment and emigration were harsh realities that made hope and optimism hard to sustain at times. The cloud of sectarian violence and political conflict hung over all of us and hung over the whole island. That deeply darkened our national life and brought unspeakable pain to thousands and yet, change did come, optimism did triumph and our hopes have been realised. As Deputy Kenny said, I share that work with many others, from all sides, and I acknowledge that.

Opportunity has replaced despondency, peace has replaced bloodshed and we have a new beginning. The Irish people did not surrender to the common enemy of despair. They have never ceased to believe that better times would come. Time and again they looked to politics and to politicians — the people they chose to represent them in this House and elsewhere — to give leadership in the challenge of thinking about old problems in new ways. By brilliant innovation and hard lessons alike, this country has overcome a difficult past and shaped a new beginning.

The lesson of my political lifetime is that by keeping faith with the future, we discharge our responsibility to history and to ourselves. People in politics have kept faith with one another. I acknowledge all of the contributions of the people I have worked with in this House and those I have worked with in Government from various parties. If there is any single achievement that this generation can boast of it is that it has realised the hopes bequeathed to it. We hand on confidence as our legacy and we leave tenacity as our testament. As we look forward to a new beginning in a new Ireland we have nothing to be complacent about. We have much to be confident in. This is a time of unparalleled opportunity in a country of great possibility.

Politics is never over. I acknowledge what Deputy Kenny and Deputy Gilmore have said. I totally acknowledge that they do their job here in a democratic system and in a political way. I fully appreciate that and hold no grudges or animosity towards anybody inside or outside this House, although sometimes I think there is a chamber outside this House that does not have the fairness of this establishment, but that is for another place and another day.

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