Who Will Be Held Accountable for Portlaoise Tragedies?
Published on: 12 May 2015
Kelleher to press Varadkar for Answers in Dáil
Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Health Billy Kelleher TD has called on Minister Leo Varadkar to spell out in clear terms how he proposes to establish who was responsible for the litany of problems at Portlaoise Hospital and what he is doing to ensure that those who had responsibility are held accountable.
Deputy Kelleher commented, “The series of tragedies that have come to light in Portlaoise Hospital have shocked and terrified families across the Midlands and across the entire country.
“The shock is real and will quickly turn to anger if people do not see proper accountability.
“My concern is that while we will hear words of sympathy in the first instance, when it comes to actually understanding what and who was responsible, the system will quickly revert to talk of ‘systems failure’ and solemn promises that this can never happen again.
“While I am happy to accept in good faith that processes are being put in place to minimise the risk of the catastrophic mistakes being repeated, I do not and will not accept the proposition that no clinicians or managers will be held accountable.
“Children died here. Catastrophic loss has been imposed upon families because an individual or individuals failed in their duties. Nothing can compensate for their loss, but the very least that these families should expect is to know that those who were responsible are held responsible.
“I will be pressing the Minister on this is in the Dáil today and will continue to do so until we get some straightforward answers.”