The full facts have yet to come out about what happened to the baby who died in Holles Street. What we can say is that this is something more than a case of a misdiagnosis and all the tragic consequences that followed. It raises the most serious questions about the medical establishment and the establishment of some doctors within our system. I spent a lot of time last year and in the past attempting to draw policymakers' attention to the fact that many parents in this tragic situation have felt patronised, sometimes pressurised-----

The full facts have yet to come out. This is unbelievable.

-----have experienced less than encouragement-----

This is outrageous. The Senator is a thundering disgrace.

-----and have felt passed over-----

There is nothing he will not say.

Please, Senator Ó Ríordáin.

There is no tragedy the Senator will not politicise. He is a disgusting disgrace.

Whether we agree or not, Senator Mullen is entitled to make his point. I am in the Chair and I will make the ruling.

The Senator should hang his head and keep it hung.

Allow Senator Mullen to proceed.

And passed over when it comes to important and, at the very least, relevant information. We have seen in the case of the CervicalCheck scandal some parallels with tests abroad and lack of information and responsibility towards people at home. We need to know more and hopefully we will know more and at that point more can be said by calm people-----

The Senator does not know what he is talking about.

-----who want people to be properly and respectfully treated.

Less of a life and death issue but nonetheless important is dentistry and people's oral and dental health. I was very interested by what Dr. John Marley, dean of the faculty of dentistry in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, RCSI, had to say last week when he came before the Joint Committee on Health. It probably will not surprise people that during the recession, many households cut down their spending on dental treatments but what would surprise them is that the faculty of dentistry in the RCSI had no input into the development of the national oral health strategy. Dr. Marley pointed out some interesting matters of which I was unaware and of which other people may also be. There is no foundation year – what we would call an internship year in the area of medicine - for dentists. Dentists go into private practice without having such a foundation year pre-registration. There is no mandatory continual professional development for dentists in the way there is for medics and other professionals. As doctors and pharmacists have ongoing training in the latest medical developments, it is striking that no such system operates for dentists. There is limited access to dental specialties. There are only about two specialties and consultancies, orthodontics and oral surgery, in which people can work in Ireland while there are about 11 other specialties in the UK and internationally. That is something we should discuss in this Chamber. I was extremely surprised by all of those things Dr. Marley had to say. We should discuss them with the Minister for Health, together perhaps with other issues in due course.