“Incredibly unkind”, “unprofessional”, and “a huge lack of respect” are the words of Michaela Willis, the author of the State’s 2009 Retained Organs Audit. She is describing the endless delays around the release of a report into the export of babies' organs from Cork University Maternity Hospital, CUMH, to Belgium for incineration without parental consent. The South-South-West Hospital Group originally stated that this report would be released by November 2021. Why are these parents having insult added to injury and being left waiting a full eight months after that date?

We learned in the past week that the horrific practice engaged in in Cork was also engaged in in the University Maternity Hospital Limerick. In how many hospitals was incineration without consent practised? Can the Tánaiste guarantee that it was no more than these two hospitals? When does this Government intend to introduce legislation to ensure that such a scandal can never happen again in our hospitals?

I thank the Deputy for his question. I want to first of all express my sympathy on behalf of the Government to the families who having experienced the tragedy of losing a beloved child and had their grief compounded by the fact that organs and tissue of their child were disposed of in an inappropriate manner. These instances were identified as part of an audit of post-mortem practices in Cork University Hospital, CUH, and CUMH. I can confirm that since October 2022, the University Limerick Hospitals Group have been found in compliance with the sensitive disposal arrangements under the national standards.

This in no way diminishes the hurt caused to the families involved and on behalf of the Government we are sincerely sorry that this has occurred and for the stress that it has caused them. Ongoing assistance is being provided to the families through the HSE’s Patient Advocacy Liaison Service. I do not know why the report has not been published yet. There may be reasons for that but I can certainly understand the stress that has been caused.