Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I too welcome the people in the Gallery, family members and others, who are in this cruel system. I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion. It is so savage. My late brother was a paediatrician of some renown. I want to also mention tonight, Professor Michael O'Keeffe, who succumbed to illness and was laid to rest at the weekend, who did so much for patients.

There are many good people in the HSE, including doctors, professors, ordinary staff nurses and so on, who do tremendous work. However, there is an issue with a management that is chaotic, callous, cold and sickening, to be honest. The fact is that children, our future generations, could be left to languish. I have had families and parents in my office who have to fight - I thank those parents who are so brave - scramble, beg, scrape, and try to work and hold their marriage, family and other siblings together. Can the Ministers of State not see the blockages that are there, cut out the deadwood and allow the good people, such as psychiatrists and others, who want to treat these children do so? They should get rid of the management structures and deadwood that are costing a fortune. Reports are gathering dust, as I am sure this one will. It is sad. It saddens me and those people I mentioned. Both my late brother and Professor O'Keeffe brought patients away from the HSE, voluntarily on their own time, and treated them free of charge. They had a basic interest, as do many others, but there is too much deadwood and layers of management that have cannibalised the HSE and the Department of Health, as the Ministers of State should know.

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