Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)

We are little more than 40 days from a cliff edge that the Minister has just described as a "critical juncture". From 1 January post mortems will no longer be carried out at UHW, a service that carries out 700 cases every year, which are often the most tragic and traumatic of deaths. Behind every one of these cases is a family in shock waiting for answers and waiting simply to lay a loved one to rest yet today, with the deadline fast approaching, there is no clarity on who will perform these examinations, where they will take place,or how families in counties Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Tipperary will be protected from delays that could last days or weeks. How will the Minister ensure that bereaved families in the south east are not plunged into a crisis of delays, distress and indignity from 1 January? Families deserve certainty, they deserve compassion and a plan, and they deserve it now.

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