Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for the response. It raises more questions. I was not going to deal with this today but I think it has to be dealt with. The Garda was informed about Brandon and for ten years it did nothing. The Garda is not the body that is going to be responsible for dealing with this. It is sad to say we cannot rely on the Garda but that is a fact. This is a lot bigger. There have been failings right across the board, not only in the HSE, although the HSE is the main cause of it. The Garda has failed and I believe HIQA has failed. There have been serious failures. The people they have failed are the residents, families and staff members of Ard Gréine Court and wider services right across Donegal.

It has to be an independent report. I am sorry, but I would not put any store on the Garda at this stage in relation to it. It has not been dealt with and it has not been published rightly through this, but they have nothing to benefit in relation to this.

I urge the Taoiseach to talk to his Cabinet colleagues and the Minister and look at having an independent report. An independent investigation is the only way that this can be done because it has to be done in the open and fully out there. This would never have come out at all if it was left to the HSE. This would be hidden all the time. That is the reality of the situation.

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