Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

I put it to the Minister that these are not "challenges", these are hundreds of children who have been damaged because of wrongdoing in these hospitals under the Government's remit. The word "appalling" does not equate to accountability. They are not the same thing. The Minister standing up here and saying how shocked she is does not actually change things at all. A mother was on "Prime Time" during the week discussing the fact that numerous reports have been written regarding similar situations, with dozens of recommendations, but have simply never been implemented. The parents do not trust the Government to get this right. The Minister spoke about this being "a priority". A new national children's hospital is being built. A representative of CHI said in an interview that there will be more intensive care beds in that hospital, but in the same interview could not say that those beds will actually be opened when the doors of the hospital are opened. The interviewee said that they do not know exactly when those new beds will be open. There is no clear timescale for those beds to be open, to change the situation where hundreds of children are having their operations cancelled. Give us a clear timescale today and we will believe the Minister.

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