Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I take the opportunity to send my condolences to the families who have suffered so much with the loss of their babies' lives. I recognise the commitment of the families in seeking answers and justice on behalf of their children and other families. They have fought tirelessly against a health system that would not listen and which would not act. The treatment they received after their already traumatic experiences was abominable and it is only thanks to their perseverance that we may be on the road to a more accountable and safe health service. I welcome that the motion is a call for action from the Government and a demand that it addresses the serious inadequacies in our health system once and for all and holds itself and its agencies directly accountable to the families who suffered gravely from this neglect.

I also take the opportunity this evening to discuss the ongoing problem of access to antenatal health services in my own county, Donegal, particularly with the closure of the Dungloe antenatal clinic. The clinic has been closed since November 2014 due to a consultant going on sick leave. The post has not been filled since and access to antenatal services has been confined to Letterkenny Hospital. The clinic's catchment stretches from Fintown to Dunfanaghy and the wider Rosses area and includes offshore islands such as Arranmore. Patients have had to travel to Letterkenny to avail of antenatal services as a result of the closure. This is taking place in a constituency in which public transport is poor to non-existent and the journey to Letterkenny can take three to four hours. It is even more difficult for rural communities to adapt to sudden changes like this.

I recognise the hard work of GAN, the campaign group on the issue, which has fought very hard to have the antenatal clinic reinstated in Dungloe. The group feels there is a very real lack of urgency on the issue and a lack of understanding about the health needs of people in rural Donegal. The usual picture is emerging for families attempting to face a large bureaucratic institution, the HSE, with long stretches of time spent waiting to hear back from it or to receive any correspondence. Protest after protest has been organised to generate a response and, eventually, meetings have taken place with the HSE from which little action or positive news has resulted. While there is a review pending to determine if services will be reinstated, families are still no closer to getting anywhere.

These families continue to seek a solution to this ongoing issue and feel not much has been done. I call on the Government to proactively respond to the urgent needs of all families around this country.

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