Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I welcome the Minister of State's response, it is not adequate, and I am sure he will acknowledge I say that sincerely. The Minister of State is here to represent the Minister, Deputy Harris. In his contribution, he referred to the swift action of the HSE. He is quite an intelligent man. This review goes back five years and we could be looking at cases going back ten years with regard to a failure within the system. I would not call that swift action. More seriously, 49 of those who were reviewed were found not to have been properly diagnosed. If they ended up with issues for life, would the Minister of State or I not feel guilty? Should the HSE not feel guilty? Apologies are no good at this stage. Everyone who has been offered further assistance should take it up, however, and I am sure most of them will.

This is a very serious matter. It is more serious because the issue goes back over ten years whereas the review deals with five years. The HSE needs to revisit this and examine where this audiologist was working. Perhaps there could be an audit of the equipment as there might be equipment issues, although I do not know that. We have to stop this. People have trust in the service but they are let down by it. I rest my case.

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