Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I had not intended to speak on this amendment but, such is its importance, I want to actively support my colleague, Deputy Daly, in respect of it. One thing I have learned in my professional life and on a human level is that institutions simply cannot be trusted. No institution can be trusted. If he looks at the record of the HSE in Galway city, the Minister will see that, on every single occasion on which there was crisis, the reaction was to close ranks in a most effective manner. The unfortunate case of Savita Halappanavar only came to light because of the persistence of a journalist. If that tells us anything it is that we cannot trust institutions. Since then there have been a number of other inquiries in Galway, which I will not go into, but in which I have some personal involvement. From my personal experience I see absolutely no commitment from the HSE or from institutions in general to learn from mistakes, to acknowledge them and to actively involve the patient or the patient's family. I find this particularly unacceptable given that, in the end, a lot more of taxpayers' money is spent on inadequate internal investigations, inadequate external investigations, investigations which pretend to be independent and, finally, the appointment of independent people.

8 o’clock

That has been my experience, both professionally and personally, over my lifetime. Unfortunately, I have not seen any inclination on the part of institutions to learn. Therefore, I support the amendment. I hope the Minister considers it and accepts it in the spirit in which it is meant. The result would be to make an institution healthier, and there would be less litigation, not more. Ultimately, everybody makes mistakes, including institutions. A problem arises only when the institution does not admit a mistake. This costs the taxpayer more money in the end. Most people are not litigious. Most simply want to be part of a system, learn and have mistakes acknowledged.

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