Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Bliain úr faoi mhaise don Cheann Comhairle agus don Taoiseach freisin. I attended the INMO protest here earlier today. That nurses feel they must protest at the Dáil says everything about the state of our health services. Last week I wrote to HIQA expressing concern at the conditions in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. I requested that the authority conduct an assessment.

Today I received a truly shocking reply. In summary it states that if previous HIQA recommendations - it is all here if the Taoiseach does not have sight of this - had been implemented, current risks within hospital emergency departments would be significantly reduced.

The Taoiseach will recall that the 2012 Tallaght report made 17 recommendations on the safe care of patients. These recommendations have not been implemented. There were two further reports, one in June 2014 into overcrowding at the emergency department of University Hospital Limerick and another in December into emergency care services. Representatives of HIQA also met officials from the Department of Health and the HSE to express concerns about the failure to implement the Tallaght report and also to express concerns about patient safety. There is no question about whether patients are safe; they are not safe.

Does the Taoiseach agree that the HSE is obliged to take prompt action to implement recommendations made by regulatory bodies such as HIQA? Does he also agree that this is the explicit responsibility of the Department of Health and the Minister for Health? Will the Taoiseach to explain to the Dáil why the HSE, the Department of Health and the Minister have failed to implement these recommendations?

See this speech in context