Erin McGreehan
Louth · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“The Tánaiste might have heard that there is a bit of excitement in Louth at the moment. I do not know if anyone has missed it, but Louth is into its first All-Ireland football semi-final since 1957. This is not just one brilliant season for Louth GAA, however. Louth GAA is on the rise and, thankfully, so too is our stadium.”
“Our stadium is becoming a field of dreams for all of us Gaelic lovers and sports lovers in County Louth. The county board, players and supporters are all doing their part and we ask the Government to finish the job.”
“It is great to have the Minister in the House this morning. I very much welcome the opportunity to have a discussion of a practical nature that will solve this issue and have really positive impacts on patients, staff and the wider health service across the north east.”
“The unit's reputation is such that people regularly travel there from well beyond Louth. There were lots of Dublin accents to be heard in the accident and emergency department when I was there last Saturday. They did not even know that Louth was playing on Sunday. It was all about Dublin.”
“There is one significant limitation, however. That is why I am speaking here this morning. It is slowing down or delaying some of the excellent work that is being carried out. At weekends, the X-ray department only operates from 12 noon until 8 p.m.”
“Every patient who can successfully be treated in Dundalk is one less patient for another hospital to treat. Extending X-ray availability across the entire opening hours of the minor injuries unit seven days a week would improve patient flow, reduce waiting times, enhance the patient experience and further reduce the pressure on the emerge…”
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“Absolutely. There have been huge improvements over the past couple of years. I will go back to the fact that people with cancer are recovering. We have more cancer survivors than ever before. That means they are leaving treatment, are healthy and are getting back to being economic actors who are delivering back to the State. I ask that when we look at cancer, we help patients with cancer through the cancer by not being financially burdened and having that hardship carry on into their recovery. The Minister of State rightly said, as I did, in regard to cancer patients, or people who are terminal, we should be looking after people to help them survive and live when they have cancer, as opposed to just looking after them when they are terminally ill.”
“We should employ a streamlined cancer form and a digital submission pathway, and oncology teams should be allowed, if needed, pre-certify that applicants have a cancer diagnosis and are accessing treatment, just as we did for Ukrainian patients with a GP sign-off. We should guarantee active cards from day one of diagnosis that are valid until treatment concludes, without interruption, renewal or a retreatment application. Cancer patients are our friends, neighbours and families. They do not need bills; they need care. We can give them some certainty if we can deliver on this.”
“Some patients still face difficulties, even with these. It is very distressing and leaves huge uncertainty. The issue of having to repeatedly apply for medical cards and prove financial hardship can cause more significant distress for patients and their families. It is clear that the current system does not adequately address the unique financial needs of cancer patients, including those who require various treatments, medications and supportive care, such as prosthetics and wigs. I propose we amend the legislation to enshrine clinically based eligibility on an equal footing with income. Cancer patients should automatically qualify and means testing should end.”
“Diagnosis brings fear, uncertainty, often financial hardship and severe hardship, yet in Ireland too many patients must navigate the maze of forms and means testing to get a medical card, despite overwhelming clinical need. We say we care about their well-being and then we ask about their bank statements. It is not care and can be incredibly cruel. The Irish Cancer Society has called explicitly for automatic medical cards from diagnosis until treatment ends. This is consistent with our values. We have extended this to children with cancer acknowledging the huge pressure that is put on families to care for someone going through treatment. We have discretionary cards but these are not automatically granted to all cancer patients. They are often reserved for those with terminal illnesses under a specific financial threshold.”
“I thank the Minister of State for being here. I will speak about medical cards specifically for cancer patients. I will ask the Department to do something really incredible for cancer patients, which is something we most definitely can fix. It is to simplify the medical card application for people with cancer. We already made adaptions to the application process, which worked well for Ukrainian refugees under the temporary protection directive, resulting in a streamlined system that cut through bureaucracy and guaranteed care but, for cancer patients, we can look to required clinical need. We did this at the time because we recognised that in crisis we need to adapt. Likewise, cancer patients are in a moment of crisis. They should be looked after and not put under financial strain.”
“As the Minister knows, I work closely with Women's Aid Dundalk. We are in the process of going to tender and building an incredible refuge service in Dundalk. It has done fantastic work over recent years and we are coming to a point where we will have a top-class refuge, a safe place for women. That needs to be replicated, and Women’s Aid is trying to do that throughout the country. We are doubling those refuges spaces. No child or woman fleeing violence should be told there is nowhere safe for them to stay. As the Minister pointed out, we are updating a school curriculum and funding campaigns around consent because culture change has to start at home.”
“We need society to say this is wrong. Every time a partner raises their fist or voice, it convinces them they have a right to dominate. Every time a child grows up and learns that abuse is just part of life, we fail as a society. I know this is important to the Minister and to every single Member of this House. We seek not merely to condemn the acts but to absolutely uproot them from every level of society and to confront them in our culture, courts, communities and homes. Last year, An Garda Síochána received 65,000 domestic abuse calls, that is, 65,000 cries for help. Women's Aid was contacted more than 32,000 times, a record high in 52 years of service. A total of 275 women have died violently since 1996 and nearly half of Irish women have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime.”
“I am talking about those women who fear making it home safely or fear the sound of the door slamming shut behind them and that angry hand or controlling voice they have in their lives. We all know in this House that the problem does not begin or end with the devastating murders, stories or statistics we read about. Violence against women is not rare. It is widespread and systemic and is tolerated in so many ways. It is tolerated big and small every single day in this country. To use public transport as an example, every time a woman is groped on public transport, they stay silent because they feel no one will believe them or take them seriously or they fear they will be targeted as the one who has no craic in her or has something wrong with her. Women need to be believed and have confidence in themselves to say this is wrong.”
“I welcome the Minister today. It is great to have an opportunity to speak on this matter. I stand in full solidarity with every single woman, survivor and child who has been torn apart and asunder, often physically and emotionally, by domestic, sexual or gender-based violence. Every single day of the week, we are confronted by harrowing stories, brutal killings, names of women we read in the newspaper, faces we see in memorials and families who carry that burden of grief and pain that will never leave them. Their deaths shock our nation. I think of the many stories of death, killing and murder that have changed a nation and forced the system to listen to women who have been forced to normalise abuse.”
“In relation to bringing childcare and that community and children focus, we have a fantastic facility in Cooley Kickhams which was also a recipient of the grant. We have a preschool there. My children went to it. It works well. It is the heart of the community and it is where our children should be and where they fit best. I absolutely support that.”
“We have now seen huge positive investment, and community centres that were run down and had no money for refurbishment have come to life. We are seeing that investment in people in our communities. I really look forward to having the next iteration to support more community investment, and more communities in County Louth getting more access to the grants.”
“I thank the Minister for the very positive response. I want to highlight communities like my own community of Mullaghbuoy. Mullaghbuoy Community Centre was built by the community, including my parents and loads of other parents and my neighbours. They went around collecting £1 a week to make sure we had a community facility. It caters for everything from the cake sales to the céilís to making sure we have events for people in our communities. These centres have supported communities all around County Louth from St. Nicholas' GFC and St. Mel's Hall in Drogheda right up to Omeath District Development, which the Minister visited with us a couple of years ago. As he well knows, these had no ability to get funding for community centres.”
“I ask the Minister for an update on the community centres investment fund, and to make a statement on the matter. When will the next round be announced? It is a hugely important and successful scheme so I would like to hear an update.”
“What really matters here is not politics; it is the students. While we debate here, there is a cohort of families and students across the country from ordinary hardworking households who I am focused on supporting, for example, families with two or three children in college earning just above the grant thresholds, and they are under incredible, enormous strain. The Minister knows this and the Government knows this.”
“I want to see that increase. So does the Minister and so does this Government. I want to see the cost reduced. Yet, Sinn Féin returns here every year with the same uncosted motion, tabled in 2023, ignoring that student fees are rightly made in an annual budget. It is simply disingenuous. Let us set out some of the facts. Promises were made by Fine Gael, not by Fianna Fáil, during the election when it had this brief. I will also lay out some other facts for our Government partners. This budget in this year was prepared not by the Minister, Deputy James Lawless, but by his Fine Gael predecessor. However, the Minister has been diligently addressing the reality inherited from the Tánaiste and the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, and has acted in good faith without resorting to press releases designed solely to grab headlines.”
“I welcome the students here this evening. I know how important it is to have student support when going to college. I went to a tech and got a grant to go to college. I would not have been able to do it otherwise. I worked throughout college. I know how important it is to have supports to be able to succeed in college and do what you want to do and what is in you. Let us be clear: Fianna Fáil is the party of education. From Donogh O’Malley's introduction of free secondary school education to today's SUSI reforms, our record speaks louder than any slogans. Over the past three years we have increased the SUSI maintenance grants to historic highs, restored postgraduate supports and raised the SUSI income threshold to €115,000, benefiting thousands of middle-income families. Some 40% of students in the country receive a student grant.”
“Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda is one of the busiest hospitals in the country. It has serious capacity issues. The base bed numbers do not match the need. The accident and emergency department is regularly at capacity, requiring the hospital to enable surge capacity. This has knock-on effects such as outpatient appointments being cancelled. That is not to mention people on trolleys and waiting lists. Dundalk and Drogheda are two of the largest towns in the country. I ask that the feasibility of establishing a surgical hub in Louth County Hospital in Dundalk be considered. It is a practical and cost-effective way to look after the health needs of the people of Louth and the north east.”
“It is good to hear that the Minister has been working on the commitment in the programme for Government. He mentioned the Bill that will come before the House. I reiterate it is important that we see a Border CAB unit looking at the Border region. It is not fair on law-abiding citizens and retailers that we have smuggling and illegal fuel coming across the Border. These are criminals whose criminal activity comes under the guise of smuggling. I want to ensure they are held to account.”
“As the Minister knows, the intent behind lowering the threshold for CAB from €13,000 to €5,000 was to root out all crime and ensure no ill-gotten gain was too small to pursue. We owe that to those who are law-abiding.”
“I thank the Minister. After the tragic and desperate loss of a lady of the calibre of Veronica Guerin, we have done a lot of good in her memory and name. CAB has been a hugely successful organisation and, as the Minister said, has been mirrored and copied in other countries. We must ensure any resource that CAB needs, it gets because it is an incredibly effective organisation. We see the reality of crime in County Louth and all across the Border region. We see fuel smuggling and drug trafficking across the Border. Locally, and particularly in north Louth - I am sure it is mirrored across the Border counties - it often feels like we are seeing criminals operate with near impunity.”
“There is potential to open the line at Dunleer and open a new train station in north Drogheda. We need an extra station in Louth given the growth in the population growth and the importance of the county. I look forward to working with the Minister of State. I have worked with Irish Rail and raised concerns with it about resourcing and expanding the rail services from Dundalk to Dublin and Dundalk to Belfast. I wish the Minister of State luck in his new role. He has our support in the House.”
“The Enterprise service has been increased and is so much of a success that we need more services and more carriages on the line because there is standing room only in the trains. We have to be very clear when we are implementing this review. We need to make sure the specific needs of Louth's communities are at the forefront. The Department of Transport and Iarnród Éireann need to increase the rolling stock on the Belfast line, strengthen existing demand for train services and make sure there is capacity to deal with a surge in the number of people moving to Louth over the next couple of years. It is also time to make sure we have footprint stations and extra stations in the county. The growth in north Drogheda means there are thousands of new homes and thousands more people in the area. They need to be able to access rail more easily.”
“That brings me to County Louth, which occupies a unique and pivotal position in the conversation around rail investment and connectivity on the island. We are the bridge between Belfast and Dublin and the gateway to the north east. The region has been experiencing enormous demographic change and economic growth and dynamism. Louth is the fastest growing county in Ireland. Drogheda is now the our largest town, with Dundalk a very close second. We will soon eclipse some of the regional cities. Mid-Louth communities like Dunleer are expanding rapidly as well, as is that town's need for housing. Dunleer is close to both Dublin and Belfast, and also close to the economic hubs of Dundalk and Drogheda.”
“I am very pleased to contribute to these important statements on the all-island rail review recommendations. This is a chance to make a generational change, transform people's lives, connect people and communities across the island, strengthen our economy and, importantly, reduce our carbon emissions. Fianna Fáil welcomes this work, which was undertaken by the Department of Transport and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. The Belfast-Dublin line highlights the shared ambition to deliver a decarbonised, modern rail system by 2050. The 32 recommendations are comprehensive. They envision faster trains, new and reopened lines and, ultimately, a tripling of rail journeys. It is essential that all of us here, as public representatives, make sure that no community is left behind.”
“The Minister of State knows what the issues are. He and I worked together closely on the Joint Committee on Disability Matters. He lives with these issues constantly in his new role. Children have the right to an education that fulfils their needs. We have to solve the issue of SNA allocations in schools. There is chaos in the application process. Children and families deserve better. The review is not enough. It must be a starting point to seriously and without haste enact its recommendations. There is an incredible amount of work to do. The Minister of State has created a number of special education classes in schools. Making sure that every single child in this country has a proper and adequate classroom keeps him awake at night. I congratulate the Minister of State on his work. I wish him the best in his endeavours ahead.”
“We now move forward with this review for children and their families. The Government must produce a detailed implementation plan as soon as possible, with clear timelines, funding allocations and accountability mechanisms. We need to revisit the Disability Act 2005, which was a long time ago. We need to ensure the rights of children and provide therapies alongside that. We must make sure the legislative underpinnings that are secured for the children and their families work for the children. We must not introduce legislation for the sake of it but pass legislation that works for children and their families. Without resources, time and accountability, we are not going to get the answers and children will not get a proper education. We need laws that work for the child, not a system that has failed thousands of children.”
“This demonstrates the legislative inertia that is causing serious consequences. This review responds directly to systematic failings. It draws on extensive input from 28,000 responses, of which nearly 1,000 were from children and young people, to agree 51 concrete recommendations. These aim squarely at the heart of the issues flagged, namely, uncommenced legal provisions, delayed assessments, weak accountability and, most crucially, children's rights being overlooked in practice. The review makes a particularly striking call for a unified legislative framework covering all school-age children. Also urgent are statutory student support plans and strengthened assessment of need timelines, which is exactly where the delays have been most damaging. The publication of the review is not an endpoint but a starting point.”
“I welcome the Minister of State to the House to discuss the publication of the review of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004. The report is an overdue milestone and a wake-up call. Now, 21 years into that EPSEN Act, we must be real. Parts of the legislation have never been implemented. The Ombudsman for Children highlighted in 2021 that key provisions, especially those concerning assessments of need, were unactioned and placing intolerable pressure on children and families. As the Minister of State is aware, many children endure long waits for assessments and supports and rely on the interim system which is failing to meet basic legal obligations. A report by the Ombudsman for Children, Unmet Needs, details delays of well beyond three months.”
“Next December marks 50 years since the Dundalk bombing where five people were murdered and 26 people were injured. In light of this enduring trauma, the anniversary coming up, many unanswered questions and not a semblance of any justice, what actions has the Minister's Department taken for direct engagement with Northern Ireland in relation to this to secure some release of information and some accountability, particularly regarding the long-standing allegations of collusion?”
“What is more concerning is the trend of the decrease in the number of new applications for housing developments and housing units. If we do not have planning, we have no supply in the future and there is no way we will meet our targets.”
“I want the Government to make Dundalk, Drogheda and towns like these a priority in ensuring we have affordable housing schemes. On his recent visit to County Louth, the Minister of State saw the building across Drogheda and elsewhere. There is loads of building. Louth County Council is reaching targets but it must be supported in surpassing those targets. It is working on its voids. To its detriment, it worked through voids at a very fast rate and ran out of money. It has the capacity and ability to work through voids faster. It needs funding for this. It must be supported to do more. The massive increase in commencements was a big story in 2024. One factor in that was the waiver of local authority contributions, but we have seen a reduction in those commencements in recent years.”
“We are seeing success throughout the country, including in Cork and Dublin, where sites have been activated. However, we need to make sure that places such as County Louth are firmly on that list. I am not satisfied at all about progress in County Louth. The LDA commits to meeting the need for affordable homes for purchase and rent throughout the country but no workable affordable housing schemes are available in Dundalk as yet. Three sites have been identified on which the LDA stated it could build up to 1,000 homes. To date, we have had no real action on making this a reality. Dundalk is a thriving town and is very important to the economic growth of the country. Housing is key to unlocking more growth in the area.”
“There needs to be a mechanism to ensure that critical infrastructure is built, whether that infrastructure involves issues with the electricity grid or water infrastructure. We have huge deficits in these areas. Road infrastructure is also needed to support the development or unlocking of land, such as the port access route in Drogheda. Under the leadership of Fianna Fáil during the previous Government, we introduced the Planning and Development Act. This was a once-in-a-generation reform to make planning faster, fairer and more transparent. We need to see the start of this to make sure that we have results from this legislation. The Land Development Agency was a huge flagship push by the previous Government to use public land for public good.”
“More than 32,000 homes were completed last year. That is the highest annual figure in more than a decade. More than 10,000 social homes have been added to the national stock. The cost-rental model, long championed by Fianna Fáil, is no longer a theory. It is a reality that is giving working families secure, affordable options below market rates. Let us be honest, however, that there is a very long way to go yet. For every young person priced out of the market, for every family waiting too long on a list and for every community under pressure, the progress is not enough and we know it. We face many structural, financial and infrastructural challenges. We must be unapologetic in tackling each one head-on.”
“The Minister of State is very welcome. It is great to have an opportunity to talk about housing. This is a huge issue. It is a serious issue that consumes all of us in these Houses and in each and every one of our constituencies. It affects our families and communities. In reality, despite all the talk about all the different things, we have to build out of this nightmare. Fianna Fáil has always believed that every person should have the right to a secure and affordable home, whether that is through ownership, social provision or cost rental. That belief is at the heart of our role in the Government and is central to the work we are doing under Housing for All. This is the most ambitious programme in the history of the State but we need to see more delivery, although we have already seen some.”
“I raise the serious concerns people have in Dundalk and north Louth in particular regarding Uisce Éireann. We have huge deficits when it comes to water infrastructure. Wastewater treatment plants are over capacity and are not working to purpose. We have brown water constantly in Dundalk and all over north Louth, where people cannot wash their clothes. Their clothes are actually dirtier after the wash. After years of engaging with Uisce Éireann in good faith, we are getting nowhere as public representatives in County Louth. Toilet paper and foul waste are being washed onto the shores in County Louth, in Carlingford Lough and Dundalk Bay. It is really a time of crisis at the minute. Toilet paper is present and it is not safe to bathe in Blackrock at the minute.”
“They feel sick because they tried to do their best by their families in getting health insurance to get better care but may have been taken advantage of by a hospital seeking a quick buck. The governance issues must be worked on in an incredibly efficient manner. Parents and children need to know everything about those children's time under the care of these hospitals. Care, support and alternative medical follow-up must be given. Accountability for all the wrongdoing must come without haste. Trust must be reinstated. I wish the Minister the very best of luck because she has hard work to do. The Government did not do this but it is the Government's job to clean it up.”
“I hope there will be co-operation with her and with the follow-up. Transparency is needed, the families need answers and the children need proper trauma-informed follow-up care. If they do not wish to go back to the hospital where they were treated, they should be given financial support to travel for the follow-up care they require. I would find it very hard to place my child in the care of a hospital that had potentially butchered them. I will highlight another point that I hope will be investigated. It has been touched on by speakers from across the House this evening. We need to check if there was a correlation between patients having private health insurance and having unnecessary surgeries. The families I have spoken to had private health insurance.”
“They feel lost in bureaucracy and need to be given answers quickly and efficiently. There are children who are learning to walk again, who were discharged in agony and who were given incredibly strong drugs with no follow-up. It is incredibly upsetting. It is unbearable for me to think of the size of those wee people affected by it. Transparency, openness, flexibility and support for those families are necessary. A mother contacted me. She had immediately lost confidence because, when she called the phone line on Friday, the person who answered did not know the answers and the mother had to spell out "Cappagh" for the individual taking the notes. It does not instil confidence. The Government must take immediate steps to address the shortcomings revealed in this audit. I welcome the clear plan outlined by the Minister.”
“Surgeries being identified as having been carried out without sufficient clinical justification means that children underwent operations that were not only inappropriate, but potentially harmful. This issue goes beyond medical error; it is an ethical failure and absolutely disgusting. If children undergo surgery that is not necessary, it is not a clinical misstep but an assault on their wee person, their health and their trust. To perform a procedure without just cause is an unconscionable violation. Where do families turn now that trust is gone? How can they place their children into the care of the same hospitals now? The health service has a lot of work to do. I hope this can be rectified but the appalling allegations will make it difficult. I have spoken to the mothers of children who have had this surgery.”
“The results of the recent audit into paediatric hip surgeries conducted by Children's Health Ireland and the National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh have exposed systematic failures. The findings of the audit are stark and beyond alarming. The majority of the pelvic osteotomy procedures carried out in CHI at Temple Street, 60%, and at the National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh, 79%, that were looked at did not meet the clinical indication of the agreed standard applied for the audit. The majority procedure looked at in Crumlin, 98%, did meet that clinical indication. The report further states that, while there is worldwide variability between surgeons, the variance identified in the audit cannot be accounted for by measurement error or observer variability alone.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this highly concerning matter, which has rocked many families across the country. The lack of any sort of organisation or accountability within CHI is a grave matter. This has rocked every parent and devastated the affected families again. It shakes public trust in our healthcare system to its foundations. What is happening in Children's Health Ireland at the minute can only be described as an extreme crisis. What was supposed to be a beacon of excellence for paediatric care is mired in dysfunction, delay and disillusionment resulting from a long list of mistakes. The further resignations from the board today are symptomatic of this.”
“The people of Palestine have waited far too long for justice and for real and definite help. We owe it to them and the principles we claim to uphold - we need to act now.”
“This legislation would prohibit the import of goods from illegal settlements in occupied territories in an Act that aligns with international law and Ireland's long-standing commitment to human rights. Let us be clear. This is not about being anti-Israel. It is about being pro-human rights, opposing the illegal annexation of land and saying international law must mean something even when politically inconvenient. Fianna Fáil has always stood for the principles of peace, justice and international co-operation. Our history in foreign affairs is rooted in the defence of multilateralism, diplomacy and the rule of law. In that spirit, we must all speak with a moral clarity and act with resolve. It is not a time for ambiguity; it is a time for Europe and Ireland to match our words with action.”
“Therefore, it is time for the European Union not only to review but to suspend that agreement. To continue trade and co-operation under these conditions would render those principles meaningless. I acknowledge the strong and principled role the Irish Government has played throughout this crisis. Our voice on the international stage has been clear and consistent. I commend An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin. His leadership, his engagement with the UN, his call for a ceasefire and his efforts to ensure accountability have been recognised across Europe and beyond. Ireland must continue to lead not just with words but actions. That is why this House must give serious consideration to the occupied territories Bill as soon as possible.”
“People in Gaza tell the BBC that the situation is "getting harder every [single] day" as global experts warn of an imminent famine in the territory. It is said that 14,000 babies are at risk of dying in the next 48 hours. It is a shame on this world that we are allowing this to happen. Even to imagine what 14,000 little bodies, little people, look like and to think that the world is standing by - we are standing by and looking at starvation and those babies dying. Europe cannot continue with business as usual. The EU-Israel Association Agreement, which was built upon mutual respect for human rights and democratic values, must be reassessed. Israel has absolutely breached those contractual obligations. Those values are not being upheld - not even remotely.”
“The death toll among Palestinian civilians, particularly women and children, is absolutely unconscionable. The destruction of homes, schools, hospitals and other vital infrastructure is not accidental; it is systematic. We see the use of collective punishment, the denial of humanitarian aid and the deliberate targeting of civilian life and dignity. Let us be honest: these are not isolated incidents; they are war crimes. They are grave breaches of international humanitarian law. They demand a response that matches the scale of the injustice. Palestinians in Gaza are still waiting for aid after Israel's so-called ending of the 11-week blockade on Sunday. The UN says its teams have not been able to distribute aid. UNRWA, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, has said supplies are "sit waiting" in a warehouse just a few hours' drive from Gaza.”
“It is great to have the Minister of State here. We are all here speaking on the same matter, looking at the photos and the videos of what is happening in Gaza and the horrendous situation playing out right in front of our eyes. I utterly condemn the continuing Israeli military operations. I wish to speak about the fresh hell the Israeli Government has brought upon the Gazan people. There must be an immediate ceasefire, the release of all remaining hostages and the resumption of unhindered humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza at an unprecedented scale. Israel's humanitarian blockade is pushing Gaza closer to a hunger crisis, to starvation. Israel is starving the people of Palestine, and the blockade must be lifted immediately. What we are witnessing is nothing short of a humanitarian crisis and a catastrophe.”
“However, where a child's health and physical body is concerned, and their tiny wee bones that could be operated on unnecessarily, they and their families deserve the respect and to be told, "Yes, we will make sure that we will get a doctor that you can trust and believe."”
“I am sorry but the Department is going to have to look at this again, listen to parents, reconsider and support parents, whether it is to get a different doctor to come from abroad to look at these files who is not associated with CHI or Temple Street or who has anything to do with them. It is an unprecedented situation and it calls for an unprecedented response. We need to instil trust in these parents and families. It is hugely disappointing that we are at this point where the Department is right and proper in doing these audits and all the processes. I have nothing to disagree with.”