Seanad debates

Thursday, 7 February 2013

12:20 pm

Photo of Martin ConwayMartin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Last night we did not have an ideal amount of time yet we still had quality and discussion with the Minister were informative. Some feisty contributions, particularly from Senator Hayden, captured the moment.

I sincerely hope that the urgency that appropriately applied to this legislation will apply also to finding a solution for the victims of the desperate scandal that was the Magdalen laundries.

In the midst of all the chaos yesterday I met two people from Mallow and a lady from Limerick. The two people from Mallow were brother and sister and the sister had donated a kidney to her brother. The lady from Limerick was awaiting a kidney. They spoke to me about the need to train people in hospitals to ensure that bereaved families can be approached in an understanding and caring way and asked if they would be prepared to donate the kidneys of their loved ones to save the lives of others. That would be a noble gesture. It would not be costly to train at least one member of the nursing staff in each hospital, particularly in the centres of excellence. I call on the Leader to request the Minister for Health to initiate a simple training programme, in consultation with the Irish Kidney Association, to ensure that each of the hospitals, particularly the centres of excellence, has a dedicated member of its nursing staff who is in a position to approach bereaved families for this vital support to human life.

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