Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I echo the points made by my colleagues about the number on patients on hospital trolleys. Meetings have been cancelled in the emergency department at St. James Hospital this morning because staff are being pushed to the limit. We are now at breaking point.

I again refer to the treatment of mothers and their children. One of the scandals that was allowed to occur in mother and baby homes in the 1960s was the carrying out of vaccine trials on women and children. The inquiry of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse is the second State inquiry to investigate these vaccine trials. It has just been discovered, as reported today, that the files of residents were altered in 2002, just weeks after the commision had sought them. This is in keeping with the behaviour of the responsible authorities throughout various State inquiries. One of the victims, Ms Mari Steed, was born in Bessborough in the 1960s and is listed as one of the residents who had her records changed. She has taken legal advice and intends to make a formal complaint to An Garda Síochána and the Data Protection Commissioner.The HSE and now Tusla are in possession of the document, which outlines the changes made to these records since 2011. It is unacceptable that they have lain there since and that no action has been taken. The Minister needs to come before the House to explain the shocking action, which is a further wrong carried out after the terror inflicted on Mari Steed and many others across Ireland.