Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I 100% agree with the Deputy. Of course, people should not be moved. What happened was very wrong and it should not happen. It is incomprehensible that it happened as recently as some years ago, which is my understanding in respect of the Brandon case. Accountability is built into systems, but people contest who is or is not accountable. People will argue and will say it is not them but somebody else. It is not that simple because people have rights and they will contest whether they are the ones to be blamed for a given situation.

There should be accountability in every system. I have said previously that we need to build up the existing structures. HIQA, a body I established when I was Minister for Health, has brought more accountability into health than any other body, some of which is pre-emptive accountability. In other words, it is getting in there, doing unannounced inspections and forcing change in the system. Many in the health service complained about HIQA in the early days, but it has driven standards higher than they would otherwise have been. The agencies responsible for standards and regulation are the ones we need to strengthen and empower.

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