Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted that the people of Waterford are responding at long last to the removal of a fine city council. It is great for a city to have a council and mayor to represent it at home and abroad. It is outrageous and about time the people of Waterford took action. They have been very quiet.

I support the views of Senator Darragh O'Brien on the inquiry into the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, and the concerns of her husband, Praveen, must be taken into account in this regard. It is a very serious situation and I fully concur with Senator O'Keeffe in her views. She spoke very well and the Minister should listen to what she said about the first inquiry which should have been carried out by now as it happened over a month ago.

I am a former chairman of the Western Health Board, and people tend to forget that University College Hospital, Galway, has provided tremendous maternity services. I know from personal experience it is one of the top maternity hospitals in Ireland. This is a tragedy, which is why it grabbed the attention of the country. There is another side to the coin with regard to what has been achieved in the hospital. The quicker the inquiry is carried out, with the approval of the husband, the better. The Government must go back to the drawing board and decide what action will be taken because the issue will not go away. Senator Darragh O'Brien outlined what our view has been from the very start. What happened in Galway has wide implications for every expectant mother and must be resolved. Senator O'Keeffe should send her submission to the Minister immediately if she has not done so already. If he follows the detailed proposal she put forward he would be well advised.