Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Whatever I say today will be completely inadequate next to Senator Clonan's contribution. I can hear the passion in his voice because he has been through this with a very vulnerable child who had to face a number of serious surgeries. Senator Conway, when he was a child, faced some very serious and life-altering surgeries. Like Senator Clonan, he has personal experience of this. We have all been shocked to the core by the revelations. We are still grappling in the dark because we do not know what happened. It is very confusing.

I commend the Minister on appointing the UK expert and giving him very wide terms of reference to investigate this matter. To reiterate the point made by colleagues, this needs to happen as quickly as possible. These children and their families have been utterly failed by the State. It is difficult to understand what they have been though or how they can ever overcome this utter failure. Young lives have been set on a completely different course from what should have been. Their lives, their lifespan and their quality of life have been altered. At a time when these small children are supposed to be carefree and enjoying life, they have been weighed down by the awfulness of their medical condition and numerous painful and disruptive surgeries, only to be then caught up in a national scandal. It is just too much.

I urge the Minister to ensure we get answers to the questions posed by Senator Clonan, other Members, including members of the health committee and, most importantly, the families and advocacy groups. They need answers as quickly as possible. I know the Minister will do his best. We must get to the bottom of this. Faith in the system must be restored. We need surgeries to resume and we need these children and their families to be put in the best possible position after such a deeply traumatic occurrence. We must ensure this does not happen to any other families. We have talked in this House about various national scandals down through the years, but this is one of the most shocking. We are all here today because we have a deep interest in the matter and a deep desire to find out what happened. Any system failure, and there clearly were multiple system failures and cultural failures, must be identified and rectified. I look forward to hearing what the Minister has to say. I urge him to act as quickly as he can because this is an horrific vista for all the families. All of us who have young children who could possibly be facing into surgeries down the line, as well as everybody in the health service, want to be sure the most vulnerable patients in the service, these very sick children, receive the best of care and that the best possible life stretches out in front of them.