Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an bhfógra atá déanta inniu maidir leis na huafáis atá tagtha chun cinn i dtaobh na tithe i dTuaim agus in áiteanna eile ina raibh máithreacha agus leanaí ina gcónaí.

I welcome the announcement by the Government that a full inquiry will be held into cases that have come to light in Tuam and elsewhere. I support the proposal made by Senator Hildegarde Naughten that the House debate this issue this week. I will explain the reason such a debate would be pertinent. My party colleagues in the Dáil have tabled a Private Members' Bill and while it is important that the other House debate this legislation, the Seanad should also be given an opportunity to debate the issue. Our discussion should cover all issues arising out of the recent discovery, including the reason this case is only now coming to light and why action is only now being taken. Senators should also discuss issues such as infant mortality , stories of forced adoption, governance issues, who knew what and when and the conditions in which people were kept. We should also explore what should be the terms of reference for the commission of inquiry as these should be agreed by both Houses. I support Senator Naughten's call to have a debate in the Seanad as Senators have a positive input to make in this regard.

Last week, I pointed out that the Ombudsman had noted that he had received a large number of complaints about the issue of discretionary medical cards. Will the Leader seek clarification from the Minister for Health as to the reason the Ombudsman has been unable to obtain records related to discretionary medical cards? It appears from the Ombudsman's comments that the files associated with cases referred to his office were not centralised when the medical card application process was centralised. Clearly, something went awry in the centralisation process. The Ombudsman stated he cannot adjudicate on cases if he does not have the original case files which formed the basis of decisions to grant discretionary medical cards.

This is an important issue. While the Government trumpeted the decision to centralise the processing of medical cards, the process has turned into a fiasco in many cases. It is not acceptable that the Ombudsman has not been able to locate or secure files when he has sought them. Perhaps the Leader will ascertain from the Minister the reason files have gone missing or are not available.