Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

As I said, I am disappointed the Minister is not here to take this matter. We do not have a good record in this country of respecting whistleblowers; that goes without saying. The inappropriate and potentially lethal administration of the so-called end-of-life protocols in nursing homes during the first wave of the Covid pandemic may have directly contributed to hundreds, if not thousands, of avoidable deaths. That is a stark figure and it is not my figure. It comes from professionals who are well versed in and understand the situations regarding the pharmaceutical components. There was a failure by the Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA, and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, PSI, to act on credible evidence regarding the dangers of Covid-19 vaccines, including serious manufacturing and safety issues, and the intentional suppression of informed consent by the HPRA. The authority was informed of cDNA contamination in vaccines but did not investigate. We had a systemic failure of the protected disclosures process itself, including, as I said, ministerial-level stonewalling of urgent safety data, resulting in zero investigations into serious allegations involving avoidable death, medical misconduct and regulatory malpractice. It is no longer credible to delay. Will the Minister of State commit to commissioning an independent public inquiry into the contents of this protected disclosure? Will he direct the HPRA, the PSI and the Department of Health to respond substantively and transparently to the evidence submitted? Will he ensure the rights of this whistleblower are protected and no further retaliation or obstruction occurs? There is credible evidence of large-scale harm, cover-up and failure to act. Lives have been lost. We have a constitutional, legal and moral duty to investigate these allegations fully and transparently. I beg the Minister of State to bring this to the Minister and act on this immediately.

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