Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. He and I both know that the correct thing to do here is publish the report in full. It is 500 pages long, so a very small executive summary is not enough. What we are talking about here is an international standard. If a report is commissioned, then its findings and recommendations must be published in order that we can learn from them and contribute knowledge for the common good. This is in the public interest.

I note with some regret - and I do appreciate the Minister of State’s remarks, which are on the record of the House - that there is the perception that this was not an independent report. The HSE and other State agencies have unfortunately been recidivist in not publishing the material. I had to write to the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, who is currently investigating another State agency for the withholding of information regarding vulnerable citizens. I intend to pursue the matter, and I will push for this.

I ask the Minister of State to prevail upon his colleagues in Cabinet and, in particular, the HSE to publish the full report, including its findings and recommendations, in order that we can protect families like the Delaneys in the future and, moreover, protect people like Margo Hannon. We are talking about a whistleblower who did the right thing. Imagine a society that punishes people for doing the right thing. I have personal experience of it myself. Yet, this is a person who is attempting to save lives, and she is being punished. That is emblematic of the culture in the HSE. The Minister of State and I are determined to confront and challenge that.