Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)

The Minister has seen Fine Gael's health policy on this matter so she should understand a very important point about the way she is stigmatising psychiatric patients in the health care system. I want the Mental Health Commission to be given a separate role in patient protection and HIQA broken up. There is a role for HIQA within the HSE, but there is no role for it with regard to protecting patients.

It is very important that the Minister takes on board our suggestions with regard to this aspect rather than waiting for things to happen because there are considerable issues relating to what this legislation will not do. She is well aware of a case where a lady in a nursing home in Buttevant was found strangled. Has she received a report from the HSE on this death? To the best of my knowledge, no report has been sent to the Department in respect of this incident even though it happened nine months ago. In any other democracy, the abuses that happened at Leas Cross would have led to criminal charges or, at the very least, some people being dismissed from their positions.

See this speech in context