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

I have no reason to doubt that the Taoiseach and other members of the Government were distressed to hear of this case. I accept that absolutely. I also accept that a review has been initiated and that the Minister, Deputy Harris, acted speedily. I have no reason to question that. However, in a fundamental way, that is to miss the very important point of who was responsible for this decision. We need an answer in that regard. Who within the HSE thought it was sensible, acceptable or in any way consistent with good policy to make a decision to separate this elderly and vulnerable couple in this way? Somebody has to answer for that. Rather than engage in a damage limitation exercise, the Taoiseach needs to apply himself to tell us the "who" of this story and what action will be taken as a consequence of it. We also need to know of other couples - other Michaels and Kathleens - out there. We need to ascertain how many times this has happened. Has the Taoiseach made those inquiries or when will he make them so that he can revert to the House to assure us that it does not take going on the national airwaves to secure one's most basic and fundamental rights? That is what happened to Michael and Kathleen. I know there are others - I suspect there are a great many involved - who were left in this situation but for whom the airwaves were not, perhaps, an option. The Taoiseach must come back to us with the relevant information without delay.

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