Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Áine Brady. My matter is as follows: the need for the Minister for Health and Children, in light of serious questions which arise from the content of documents released to me under the Freedom of Information Act as directed by the Information Commissioner, Ms Emily O'Reilly, to hold an independent review of governance standards in the HSE and the Health Information and Quality Authority; to carry out an evaluation of the relationship and interaction between both organisations; and reform of the Health Act 2004 in order to introduce some level of public accountability to our health service.

As the Minister of State and Members will no doubt be aware, in recent years in the context of fighting to prevent cancer services moving from Sligo to University College Hospital Galway, I sought information, including a number of reports, from the Health Service Executive and HIQA. I do not want to dwell on the cancer issue for Sligo because sadly the horse has bolted on that issue, much to the inconvenience of the people in the entire north west region, an argument I made here on many occasions in the past. The information I have managed to secure - the documents I have finally managed to extract from both organisations - and not least the inordinate and obstructive process to secure them raise potentially very serious questions over the integrity and credibility of both the Health Service Executive and the Health Information and Quality Authority. They also suggest an urgent need for the examination of the objectivity of the work of our so-called independent standards and quality watchdog.

I have the report before me. I know that if documents are to be mentioned in the House, I need to lay them before the Office of the Cathaoirleach, which I have done. It took me 14 months to get this information in order to assess the work of HIQA, our independent quality authority. Its website states: "we will publish the findings of our inspections so that the public can make informed choices when seeking care". That is only in the instance when there is a Senator Marc MacSharry who is prepared to spend €500 and 14 months trying to extract that information. It is only when Senator Marc MacSharry manages successfully to solicit the support of the Office of the Information Commissioner to get that information.

I do not want to get drawn into the cancer issue again because much bigger issues are at play. However, the HIQA report proves - not my words, but its words - that University College Hospital Galway was not ready for the transfer from Sligo.