Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. He has given us more of his time than he was scheduled to. I appreciate that. He gave a comprehensive reply. I met the Minister for the first time in connection with a health issue in Kerry. We were trying to recall the Seanad, which we managed to do. We also tried to recall the Dáil but did not succeed. The issue in question was organ donation. The Minister has been a champion of that for many years. There were reports in the newspapers and other media in recent days that an organ transplant operation had to be cancelled as a result of lack of available ICU beds. As the Minister will know, I am very passionate about the issue of organ donation. As we know, 600 Irish citizens are on the waiting list for an organ transplant. Many are taken off the list because they become simply too sick to receive an organ donation. As the Minister has said, we do not want to get into a blame game in respect of this issue but, when people get this opportunity only for it to be taken away from them at the last minute, it can be very hard to take. What are the Minister's thoughts on that issue? It obviously affects the whole health system but, in that particular case, a person had a chance to live a much longer life and to have an enhanced quality of life. People can spend decades on an organ transplant list. It is huge for them when an opportunity arises but, in this case, that opportunity was taken away as a result of something that would not happen in normal circumstances. What are the Minister's thoughts on that particular matter?