Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I, too, welcome the reinstatement of Ms Louise Bayliss by The Irish Advocacy Network Limited. This is a good outcome. However, it does not remove the necessity for us to raise the issues surrounding her case.

The treatment of women patients in St. Brendan's Hospital is a very serious matter. After Ms Louise Bayliss blew the whistle, the matter was raised in the Dáil by a number of Deputies, including me, and the Minister of State subsequently visited St. Brendan's Hospital to see what had been described as temporary arrangements brought about by staff shortages. That happened on 15 December. I trust the Minister of State will take the opportunity to provide an update on the situation in St. Brendan's Hospital for the women concerned and generally, given the ongoing staff shortages.

The issue that must be addressed is why did it take a patient advocate to go to the national broadcast media to highlight the situation and seek a remedy. We would not have know about this were it not for the actions of Ms Louise Bayliss who deserves great credit for her courage. Where are the safeguards for patients falling short? Where are the reporting mechanisms in the system breaking down? These are the issues that must be addressed.

We have to see this issue in the context of the narrowly averted industrial action by members of the Psychiatric Nurses Association in St. Ita's Hospital, Portrane. All of this is related. Again, the issue is the pressure exerted on reduced staff numbers and the reduction in bed numbers. I trust the Minister of State will address these issues.

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