Republican News · Thursday 24 October 2002

"Justice and truth for the bereaved" - Ó Caoláin

The scandal whereby the organs of deceased children were removed without the knowledge or consent of their parents was highlighted in the Dáil this week by Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD. The Cavan/Monaghan deputy supported the demand of the Parents for Justice group for a statutory inquiry into post mortem practice in the State.

On 17 October, the representatives of Parents for Justice, following a meeting with the Minister for Health and Children Mícheál Martin, withdrew from the non-statutory Dunne inquiry into the practice of organ retention, removal and disposal. They did so, in the words of their spokesperson Fionnuala O'Reilly, "reluctantly and sadly". Frustration at the lack of progress of the Dunne inquiry and grave doubts as to the prospects of the promised statutory inquiry led to the withdrawal of Parents for Justice.

Moving the Dáil motion (the first of its kind from the newly formed Technical Group of which he was leader on Tuesday), Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said:

"There should be no need to table this Dáil motion but the sponsoring Deputies have done so at the request of parents who feel they have reached a cul de sac and that the state has failed them. They consider that the route of a statutory inquiry as set out in this resolution is the only way they can establish truth and justice.

"It is now nearly three years since this scandal came to light. Four bereaved mothers sought answers when they found out that their deceased children's organs had been removed and disposed of without their knowledge or consent after post-mortems in a leading Dublin hospital. They were shocked that this could be done behind their backs by a trusted healthcare institution and they were insulted when their questions were met with silence or evasions. Fionnuala O'Reilly, Charlotte Yeates, Breda Butler and Margaret McKeener decided to speak out.

"When the victims of a hidden injustice speak for the first time their voices are soon echoed by many other hidden victims. After they spoke out in December 1999 the four women received over 2000 phone calls in the space of three weeks. These bereaved families were beginning to ask questions about the treatment of their children after death in Irish hospitals. What they found out was a cause of deep pain to them and a disgrace to a system in which such practices had become routine.

"The organs of deceased children were removed without the knowledge or consent of the bereaved parents or next of kin. They were retained for various purposes, often lying for years in laboratories, and they were disposed of with hospital waste.

"The extent of organ removal from individual deceased children is distressing in the extreme, with many organs including the brain, taken away and the integrity of the body completely destroyed.

"To compound the scandal and to add further pain to the bereaved, it was revealed in February 2000 that one Dublin hospital had received money from a pharmaceutical company in return for the pituitary glands removed from the bodies of dead children. It has been established that this practice was routine for a decade between the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s."

Full co-operation

Parents for Justice cooperated with the Dunne inquiry and furnished it with a huge volume of information. On 11 April 2002 the Supreme Court delivered judgement in the Abbeylara inquiry case, effectively rendering powerless any further inquiry by a Committee of the Oireachtas. The second stage of the process agreed by Parents for Justice was now in doubt.

Parents for Justice states that despite extensive cooperation over the summer, no progress was made and there was no meaningful engagement from the Minister until last week's meeting. The group's deadline for withdrawal from the Dunne inquiry was the night of the meeting with the Minister. They duly withdrew, as they said, "with sadness and pain".

Ó Caoláin pressed the demand for a full statutory inquiry:

"One of the most serious questions raised is that hospitals may have been in breach of the law and carried out post-mortems under false pretences and failed to have deaths registered properly. We must know how widespread these unlawful practices have been in Irish hospitals.

"We also need to know if the obscene exchange of pituitary glands for money was isolated or has this been widespread.

"Most of the focus so far has been on Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin and the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street but we must investigate post mortem practice throughout the state.

"I urge the government to allow the bereaved find truth and justice at last."