Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste has said the report makes for difficult reading - for nobody more than for the Halappanavar family, the family of Tania McCabe, for many other families and for any woman, particularly any woman of child-bearing age who may at some stage rely on the maternity services in the State. The Tánaiste described the report as a good report; I would describe it as a damning report. As he has acknowledged, it registers failures in the most basic elements of medical care that Savita Halappanavar had every right to expect, including, very disturbingly, an absolute failure to recognise the vast deterioration in her health. The mind boggles at that prospect.

The criticisms, as the Tánaiste has acknowledged, are not simply restricted to St. Monica's ward. His language has been very evocative and no doubt we can all imagine the scenario for Savita Halappanavar and the turn of events for her and her husband, Praveen, over those fateful days. Of course the implications of the report go far beyond that ward. We now see a mirror held up to our maternity services, showing us clearly that the vital safeguards, and the most basic provisions in terms of good governance and good practice in our maternity services, simply are not there. The authors of the report found it impossible to provide assurances that women are receiving safe or reliable care during or after pregnancy.

I agree with the Tánaiste in saying that questions arise from the report. There are questions around accountability in the case of the particular hospital in Galway, and in respect of local and regional HSE authorities. A question of negligence or malpractice arises. If that is not stated openly, it is certainly implicit in the report's content. Not alone are questions raised by this report, but answers are demanded. The implication of this report moves from St. Monica's ward, through the HSE to the desk of the Minister for Health and then it lands fairly and squarely on the desk of the Cabinet. The questions people want answered are as follows. How will the accountability, of which the Tánaiste speaks, be delivered? We have mentioned the previous case of Tania McCabe in 2007. At that time guidelines were drawn up and we all resolved that we would have learned the lessons. Six years later those recommendations have not been implemented.

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