Noel Coonan (Fine Gael)

I add my voice to the call for a debate on the report by Judge Harding Clark which reveals a horrific practice that took place for several years. I call on the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children to immediately establish a forum where patients with legitimate complaints can be heard. Consultants and psychiatrists who were struck off elsewhere have been appointed in this State. As a member of the Mid-Western Health Board, I was aware of complaints regarding the abuse of psychiatric patients by a consultant who had been struck off in another country. It was like banging one's head against a stone wall to have those complaints listened to and investigated. This is unsatisfactory and it continues to happen.