Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

Listening to this morning's debate I am struck by the level of cross-party agreement that this practice is barbaric. The word "savage" has been used on several occasions this morning, which is what it is. I was struck by the contribution of Deputy Ann Phelan, putting herself in that situation given that the practice was ongoing. I compliment Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin and the former Deputy, Dr. Rory O'Hanlon, on the work they have done in this matter. In particular, I thank Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin for giving us this opportunity as Oireachtas Éireann to unite in condemnation of this practice.

As we come towards the end of these statements we need to give these people some sense of justice. We need this report to be published. I do not doubt the Minister's personal commitment given that he acted very quickly on coming to office to commission the report. However, I get very weary when I see the Office of the Attorney General involved in anything. The Office of the Attorney General looks after laws and we have to look after justice. As an Oireachtas, we have responsibility to deliver justice. It may be necessary to put a bullet under someone to get moving and get this report issued so that we can see exactly where we go from there.

We need to investigate the issue of clustering and why this was specific to certain areas. There seem to be difficulties in a particular area regarding a range of health issues - I speak about the north east. Many of the issues we discuss seem to come back to the north east area. Perhaps it is time to have an overall inquiry into what was going on there rather than investigating the area topic by topic.

What redress will be given? We can never compensate women for hell they have endured with the complications following this procedure. However, we can give some sort of indication for the financial hell they endured. That also needs to be resolved.

Some people have referred to the wider issue of the faith we place in consultants at a very difficult time. In general, people need consultants at a difficult time when they are not in a very good frame of mind and have some sort of serious medical condition. Many consultants do not respect or understand the position their patients are in when they go to them. They treat patients and their families with a degree of contempt. They do not give them information or lay out the options. A large minority of them believe that a patient is blessed to be in their company - the majority are good decent people. This is symptomatic of what was going on here - the doctor knows best and the patient will suffer the consequences. We must ensure that culture is wiped out of our health system and ensure that the patient is put first, that the patient has rights and that the patient is treated as a citizen of the Republic with dignity and respect. Personal opinions and beliefs and everything else should play second fiddle to the citizen's rights.

In a week when there has been division and rancour in the Chamber I have been struck by the past two hours when there has been unity. I did not make the briefing last night but I understand people who were there were shocked to the core. Last night's briefing and this morning's debate will amount to a waste of time if we have to come back here again in two, three or four months time without a published report or some type of action plan. We have done the talking and the empathy. The Oireachtas will never really be able to understand what the victims of this savage procedure went through and are going through. We must give them justice. Our responsibility as legislators is to provide justice for our citizens. Let us not return here unless we have a report and an action plan in place.

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