Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste speaks about confidence. We need it. Whoever is in charge of the HSE at this time, be it a Minister of State or a senior Minister, needs to answer serious questions. On numerous occasions today I have asked about when the Minister for Health received the advice. Was it in early or at the end of December? Why has it taken so long for the women who have been affected to be informed? While the Taoiseach is abroad, the Tánaiste is in charge. Surely someone is in charge of the HSE who can obtain the information as to when the Minister was informed, what he was informed and why the Government decided not to inform patients until now. As we still do not have a figure - it is about 6,000 - are we sure this is the number of people affected who have been identified? I impress on the Tánaiste and the Ceann Comhairle the need to make space available today to answer these questions and provide reassurance, if it can be provided, that someone has his or her finger on the pulse and is overseeing the matter from a Government perspective.

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