Dáil debates

Wednesday, 6 July 2022

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Health Services

9:42 am

Photo of Donnchadh Ó LaoghaireDonnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has just given a timeline of the occasions on which these parents have already been disappointed. We are none the wiser as to when this will come to pass. A total of 18 updates have been received from the HSE. All the updates said, more or less, is that the HSE did not have the report ready. That is all the parents have learned. They are still no wiser. Even if the Minister of State cannot give me a date, can he give me a sense of when it will be published? Will it be published in the third quarter of the year? Will it be published before October? Can he give me any kind of timeline for when the parents will have an answer? What is happening is really not good enough. The others concern that many have, seeing as legal advice seems to be part of the delay, is that what they will get will be heavily redacted and that even when the report is published they will not get the full truth as to what happened. Will the Minister of State give me a response on this?

I appreciate that the Minister for Health is busy, but it is a matter of regret that he does not have an opportunity to contribute to this debate. Many parents listening to the debate will be at a loss. They do not know where things will go from here. They do not know when they will have answers. They do not know where the process will lead. We could be back here at Christmas at the rate the HSE is going. It simply is not good enough. I know this goes far beyond the Minister of State but I urge him please to take this up with the Minister and the HSE and get answers for these parents. It is the least they deserve. I appeal to the Minister of State. Is there any insight he can give me as to when we will learn more? I ask for a bit of respect for the parents who have suffered so considerably.

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