When the Taoiseach was asked yesterday about a public inquiry into the practices at CHI, he appeared to rule that out. I believe jumping to that conclusion without considering the facts, the impact and the outcome is a mistake. Parent groups and patient advocates have for many years been calling for transparency and accountability. We have to be clear that there are many fine clinicians across Temple Street, Crumlin and Tallaght hospitals, but there are also serious concerns. Such is the depth of systemic dysfunction I believe a major inquiry is required.

My question to the Taoiseach concerns one of those inquiries at the moment, which is the Medical Council inquiry into surgeon A. It is taking place behind closed doors. The doctor does not have to appear in person. The families cannot go face to face with the doctor and there is limited access for the media. This is not in the public interest. Some 20 years ago, the patients of Michael Neary fought tooth and nail to have the Medical Council inquiries in public. Covid obviously made the inquiries go online and it is not acceptable five years on that they are still behind closed doors. That needs to change.

The Minister for Health is here but the Deputy asked me about the public inquiry. I did not jump to the conclusion. It has been a view of mine for quite some time. Of the last two inquiries published, the inquiry on Project Eagle found nothing in the end. Do not get me wrong, that in itself can be a finding, but it cost millions of euro and took years. We need to be honest with advocacy groups and with everybody who talks to us and say that this could take between five and ten years. I genuinely think there has to be a better way to do it. In many ways we are discussing what happened with the spinal operations and the use of non-alloyed springs. We kind of know the essentials now.

We do not.

We know the essentials in that something unbelievable and incomprehensible happened and it should not have happened. Yes, there are issues around that. We then need to deal and engage on the governance issue. Let us work through. There have to be better ways than the formula of public inquiries, which are not giving people closure or satisfaction.

There is the matter of the Medical Council.

I will come back to the Deputy on that.