Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom tacaíocht a thabhairt don rún seo, atá curtha chun tosaigh ag an Teachta O'Reilly. Each time there is a scandal in the State, the crisis is initially downplayed. There are accusations of overreaction and so on. However, the scandal ends up being worse than it initially appeared. That was recently the case in respect of the mother and baby home in Tuam, the tracker mortgage scandal and the CervicalCheck issue. As one who comes from Gweedore, I also think of the hepatitis C scandal in that regard because Bridget McCole, a proud woman from my parish, was disgracefully treated by the Government of the day. She had to fight right up to the time of her death to ensure that justice was done. No woman or citizen should have to go through that. Accountability is hard fought for and seems almost beyond the reach of the ordinary citizen. A revolution is needed in respect of how the State treats its citizens and protects the protected few.

Níl dabht ar bith ná go gcruthóidh Sinn Féin oiread freagracht agus is féidir in Éirinn, céim ar chéim. Tá dul chun cinn á dhéanamh againn anocht leis an rún seo ata os comhair na Dála. This very simple motion is very simple proposes the introduction of mandatory open disclosure before the summer recess. As an Opposition party, Sinn Féin will work with the Government to bring that about. The Government should have brought in mandatory open disclosure previously rather than voting against it, while the Deputies of Fianna Fáil, as they do, sat on their hands. We must bring in accountability and transparency.

I received a call this evening from a constituent in Donegal whose brother died in a psychiatric ward 20 years ago. It took the family ten years to fight the State because the required information was not provided to the family's medical experts. On the steps of the court, the State told the family to settle because if it did not members of the family could lose their homes as the State was going to pursue them for everything they had. That is how the State treated people. Let us make a start, turn over a new leaf and introduce mandatory open disclosure before the summer recess.

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