Richard O'Donoghue urges end to legal delays that waste funds
Richard O'Donoghue spoke in support of the motion, urging quicker accountability in health and emergency services investigations and calling for legal costs to be cut so funds can be redirected to mental health and elderly care. He recounted a personal bereavement, praised emergency volunteers, and criticised lengthy HSE and Garda investigations that tie up resources.
Personal testimony and frontline services
He said he thinks of a great friend who died from suicide and that he was with him the day before he died. He named emergency responders - Garda services, fire services, suicide watch and search and rescue teams - and praised volunteers who help people daily.
Concerns about HSE investigations and legal fees
He criticised investigations in the HSE that can take eight years for a person to admit they were wrong, and said that hundreds of thousands of Euros have been spent on legal fees. He argued that those funds could instead be used to improve services that save lives, particularly mental health supports.
Impact on Garda resources and case delays
He highlighted recent Garda cases where five guards were found not guilty after a seven and eight year period, saying long investigations remove guards from frontline duties. He repeated that protracted legal processes cost hundreds of thousands and reduce available personnel for community support.
Call for accountability and better resourcing
He urged a culture where people admit mistakes, learn from them and move on so cases are resolved more quickly. He called on the minister to help stop delays and cover-ups, fix accountability up the chain, and ensure available funds are directed to the most needy - the elderly and those suffering from mental health issues. He said timely resolutions would free resources to improve treatment and services for vulnerable people.
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Minister, I welcome the motion and I support it. When the day goes by, I think of my great friend of many years that died from suicide and I was with him the day before he died. Every time I look at the time he had even fooled me, then I think of the emergency services that have to deal with things on a daily basis. I think of the Garda services, I think of the fire services, I think of the suicide watch, I think of the search and rescues. All these people, volunteers, go out to do their best and to help people. And then when I see investigations in the HSE taking eight years for a person to admit that they were wrong, and the hundreds of thousands of legal fees that have been wasted on somebody not putting up their hands and saying they have done wrong, which could go into services that could save lives of people that are suffering from mental health. The same thing in our Garda services. We saw yesterday where five guards were found not guilty after a long seven and eight year period. Hundreds of thousands. Again, guards off the street where they could have been helping people and again it could have been dealt in a more timely fashion. And again this would have helped services that are badly wanted for people with mental health. We have to get this right. We have to make sure that the funds available to us resource the most needy. They are the elderly, they are the people that suffer from mental health. But all the challenges that they have now, we have got to make sure that they get the best of treatment when we can. And to do that we have got to stop the waste. And fix the accountability. Whereas if you get something wrong in this country, you put your hands up and you say I've got it wrong. You learn from it and you move on. That's what we have got to do. And until we do that, we have hundreds of thousands of Euros being wasted on legal challenges that could actually help people in need. So Minister, I am asking for your help on that. And I do hope from the start of this that we don't have to wait for seven and eight years for other cases that are within our health services that could be fixed if people put up their hands from accountability. Learn from your mistakes. And that goes all the way up the chain to the very top. Stop the cover-ups. Help people that are in need. Thank you.
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