Rose Conway-Walsh presses for inquiry after Cumberledge report
Rose Conway-Walsh raised the UK Cumberledge report and pressed the government to honour a promised public inquiry into sodium valparite. She argued the report described intense, avoidable suffering and asked whether the minister would keep a "100% commitment" and allow time for full debate.
Cumberledge report cited
Rose Conway-Walsh quoted from the Cumberledge report, saying the reviewer had "never encountered anything like this" and highlighting the "intensity of suffering experienced by so many families" who had endured avoidable harm for decades.
Call for a public inquiry
She asked directly whether the minister would keep the previously stated 100% commitment to hold a public inquiry into sodium valparite and requested that the chamber be given time at the earliest possible moment for a full debate on the issue.
Government response and scheduling
A government speaker replied that time could be allowed for substantial debate but noted they had not yet read the report. They said the Whip could engage on scheduling and cautioned that July might be difficult due to emergency legislation connected to economic recovery.
Need for detailed consideration and recognition of harm
The government speaker accepted the issue required detailed consideration, acknowledging that the matter had caused widespread suffering and undue trauma for many people. The exchange underlined demands for accountability and parliamentary time to examine the report and its implications.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
I have a very direct question and it's around the Cumberledge report that was published last night, the UK report done by Baroness Cumberledge. She said in that, I have conducted many reviews and inquiries over the years but I have never encountered anything like this. The intensity of suffering experienced by so many families, the fact that they have endured it for decades and the fact that this suffering was entirely avoidable. This is to do with the sodium valparite issue. Now my question is, your Minister Donnelly promised 100% commitment that we would have a public inquiry into the issue of sodium valparite. Is he going to keep that promise? Are you going to keep that promise? And can we allow time at the earliest possible moment to have a full debate on sodium valparite within this chamber? Goera maagut. Of course we can allow time for substantial debate on this issue. I haven't read the report yet and I think the whip can engage with you in relation. That may not be possible in July given all of the emergency legislation that we got through in terms of the economic recovery and so on. But certainly that report and the wider issue needs very detailed consideration because it did create a lot of suffering and undue trauma for many, many people.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
