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

Tá sé dochreidte an méid atá laistigh den tuarascáil seo, go raibh dochtúir ann a bhí sásta springs den saghas seo a cheadú in obráid do leanaí. Ní raibh aon cheadúnas ann. Tá sé dochreidte an méid atá tar éis tarlú. My thoughts are with the families, the three children and the trauma they have gone and are going through. It is beyond comprehension that springs which are not permitted were used in surgery. The consultant concerned used springs that were not CE marked. That is the fundamental issue here.

Then there is the culture within the hospital that facilitated that. There are procedures but they were not followed, either in the procurement of or the use of these springs or in terms of any ethical considerations. This was not put before any ethical research committee. For example, if a consultant wants to engage in innovation and research regarding techniques around particular surgeries or difficult surgeries, normally that would go through an ethics committee within the hospital. That did not happen here either.

This matter was raised in a parliamentary question to the Minister of the day by Deputy Murphy and an inquiry was established. That is why the Health Information Quality Authority, HIQA, was established. I established that many years ago to make sure there was an external independent body to investigate and to ensure quality within our healthcare setting.

Let us be very clear. I understand where the Deputy is going in terms of wanting to say it is ultimately the Government's fault. There is a limit to what anyone in this House can do in terms of how people conduct procedures in operating theatres. Let us call a spade a spade here. We can be political about these matters but there are fundamental issues here that happened and should not have happened. There has to be individual responsibility. There has to be accountability in that respect. There has to be management accountability in terms of CHI and the board and so on, why the governance procedures were not followed and why they were essentially bypassed.

All of the recommendations will be implemented. I note that the chairperson, who has been in place since 2013, has tendered his resignation. The Minister will first ensure the implementation of the different sets of recommendations for the CHI, the nine recommendations for the HSE and the one recommendation for all services providers and all hospitals throughout the country. She will also, over time, evaluate structures in regard to these issues. Equally, it has to be said that much progress has been made on the other side. No one wants to hear that today but very substantial focus has also been made on a number of fronts.

In regard to Daniel Collins, my understanding is that the clinical team is engaging with him and the family in respect of his situation. I am not at liberty to go into too much detail on that. However, it is my understanding that there is engagement with the clinical team. It will decide about the clinical decision-making around Daniel's particular case.

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