Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her questions. She first asked why there were no safeguards in place, but there were and there are. There are very clear standards and protocols in place. The national guidelines are very clear. They say that the only two avenues available are burial and cremation. CUMH's own guidelines go further and state there is one option available, which is burial. What has happened here is that the safeguards, protocols and procedures which are national policy were not followed. The first of the three reviews which will be reporting back to me and therefore to this House in November is looking at exactly this issue. It will ask what happened, why it happened and what needs to be done about it, which leads me to the Deputy's second question. First, we will get this review, which will say what needs to be changed with regard to this specific incident. The second review, which is the perinatal regional review, is also looking at what needs to happen from a guidelines and standard operating procedures perspective. Third, we will legislate, it is hoped with support from right across this House. The human tissue Bill will enshrine all of this in legislation.

On the Deputy's third question, I immediately sought assurances from the HSE for the entire healthcare system. It will report back to me on that in three weeks. The executive is looking at the current situation, and the provisional view I have from the HSE is that all of the guidelines are currently being followed. What the HSE is doing now is looking backwards to determine if they were also followed in previous years.

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