Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly. I recognise how incredibly difficult it is for the families who lost loved ones during the pandemic, which presented one of the greatest and most wide-ranging public health challenges internationally in recent history. I extend my sympathy to the Delany family - Senator Clonan mentioned that Bernadette and Seán are here - on the sad passing of their family member who passed away in the Phoenix Park Community Nursing Unit at St. Mary's Hospital, at that time. There is not a family who did not have somebody belonging to it pass away because of the Covid-19 situation. Every one of us feels this deeply. I share their grief and difficulty on that.

I also acknowledge the role of Ms Hannon who made a number of observations. They were examined but not fully implemented. She was then forced to make a protected disclosure. I commend her on her strength and ability to do that. Many people will shy away from doing it. I believe the people who make such protected disclosures have to be protected by the State. I thank Senator Clonan for raising this matter. He indicated that she may have suffered because of making that protected disclosure. There should be clear mechanisms. There are mechanisms in place, so that an employer, be it an employer in the private or public sector, should not be allowed to cause difficulty for any staff member solely because he or she made a protected disclosure. It is a fundamental aspect of protected disclosure that there is protection for the person who makes such a disclosure. I hope that matter, which is a separate issue but is really at the core of what we are talking about here, is followed up by whatever means are appropriate for Ms Hannon. Nobody wants a situation whereby people feel that if they make a protected disclosure, after long and careful consideration, they can be victimised in any way by their employer.I support Margo Hannon in that regard and thank her for making that disclosure.

The protected disclosure made in 2020 raised issues relating to events in the community nursing home unit. At the outset of the pandemic, the HSE commissioned an independent team. Senator Clonan will say that because they were HSE staff, the team was not independent. He will also say that staff from the organisation who run the place that is involved are not independent because they are employees. I accept that, if that is the case. I am listening carefully to Senator Clonan on that. The team was independent of the specific unit, but it was not independent of the overall employer, which was the HSE. I take that point on board.

The investigation team completed a comprehensive executive summary for the HSE, which was published, as the Senator knows, in March of this year. The HSE has taken the decision not to publish the full report on the basis of its responsibility to balance the requirement for transparency with its obligation to the people - in this case, the residents, families and staff - whose sensitive information is contained within the full report. We have highlighted the dilemma here. Sometimes it is important to act on information that emerges on foot of protected disclosures and reports such as those in question. However, such information might cause difficulties for other people who are mentioned and who contributed to the process in confidence. Their wishes have to be respected too. There is a delicate balancing act here. It is not possible for everyone to be fully satisfied. However, the HSE provided an assurance that the comprehensive summary report that was published in relation to this protected disclosure fully represents the issues that were raised in the full report. Most of the findings of the investigation relate to infection prevention and control issues. The same issues were identified by the Covid-19 and nursing home expert panel in their report in August 2020.