Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister on the open and frank manner in which he answered all of the questions put to him today. It is unacceptable that the Minister would be provided with late information by whomever is accountable. I praise Vicky Phelan for her courage, conviction and determination. Our hearts go out to her and her family for the battle she is fighting in terms of her health and to all of the women of this country.

The key message from Vicky Phelan is that cervical smear testing should continue. The Minister, Deputy Harris, has been listening. New, more reliable tests are to be made available to women. I welcome the commitment to mandatory open disclosure, which is essential at this time. I support the Minister in his view that he could not express confidence in the clinical director. It is right that she resigned.

I believe that the Department is not responding adequately to this crisis. Does the Minister need additional staff? Are there sufficient staff in the Department to ensure that when crises like this arise, there is a commitment to providing the Minister with all of the facts in regard to any possible questions he could be asked? A Minister should never have to come into this House to read a statement to the effect that new information has come to light which indicates that there are an undetermined number of women who may be in difficult positions over the next few days.

I would like now to speak about the question of the legal case. In this regard, I want to give an example of a person who suffered greatly at the hands of HIQA and the HSE, in respect of which his family is now going before the courts. A lady named Mary rang HIQA five years ago to complain about the state in which she found her brother in Cherry Orchard Hospital. He had a disability and he had a stroke and she found him strapped to a toilet covered in faeces. Later, her brother, David, died in a Dublin hospital, having been admitted there in such an appalling physical condition that the admitting doctor attacked the family for not having cared for him properly. The doctor was surprised when he was told that the man had been under the tender care of the HSE.

The family fought tooth and nail to get an inquiry into his death. The HSE set up an inquiry but as there was no doctor involved the family rejected it. A second inquiry was set up but the doctor involved left mid-inquiry. He refused to finish the investigation he was appointed to carry out.

There were then discussions, to which I was party, on the establishment of another inquiry to be undertaken by an specialist team from Scotland. The third inquiry involved Irish experts. Following on from that inquiry, the HSE accepted responsibility for what had happened to this man. What happened then? Nothing. This family now has to resort to the courts system to get justice for their family member. This is appalling and disgraceful.

There are other people who have been wronged by the HSE and the health services in respect of which the HSE has admitted responsibility but is not being held accountable. As in the case of Vicky Phelan, these people are being forced to go through the courts system. This is appalling. I spoke to the family this evening. For five years they have been fighting for justice with no success. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, and the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, must come together and insist that in cases where there has been an admission of liability, people are not put through this appalling situation.

This debate has been very worthwhile for the people listening in.

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