Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin will likely be questioned in public during the COVID inquiry, Stephen Donnelly has said. 

The Health Minister gave an update on the inquiry on Newstalk Breakfast this morning where he was discussing the issue of overcrowded hospitals.

The terms of reference for the inquiry are to be set shortly, along with strict time limits.

Minister Donnelly, who also expects to face public questioning, said Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is now finalising a proposal.

“The Taoiseach will be bringing a memo to Government quite shortly and he’s going to lay out the terms of reference of the review,” he said.

“My understanding is parts of it will be in the public and certainly people like myself, the Taoiseach, and Tánaiste [will be involved] who have been answering questions on this for a long time.

“For people like myself and other figures who were centrally involved in the national response – I imagine there will be a public element.”

Broad inquiry

Minister Donnelly promises the inquiry will be wide-ranging and not get too bogged down on individuals.

“I think it will go more broadly than the health service," he said.

“In health, we have already done two reviews, we’ve done a review on nursing homes and we’ve done a broader review in terms of surveillance epidemiology.

“My understanding is this review, of course, will look at health, but it will also look at a broader Government and societal response to COVID.”

A recent report from the OECD showed Ireland had the fourth lowest excess mortality rate during the pandemic out of 38 member states.

Irish public

Minister Donnelly said the Irish public had a part to play in this.

“I think the Irish people deserve great credit for that because what we saw in Ireland was a national response," he said.

“There was a government response but the entire Oireachtas worked together, the media took a responsible line, and on a community level, GAA teams went and provided people with meals.

“I think this very low excess mortality rate compared to other countries is a very strong reflection of Ireland coming together as a nation responding to Covid – as a nation we did very well.”

Leading the inquiry would need to be “someone we all respect,” according to the Health Minister, who also suggested, “Maybe we go abroad”.

Hospital corridor with an empty trolley amid trolley crisis. Image: Martin Shields / Alamy Stock Photo

Minister Donnelly said the Health Service has turned a corner on the annual affair of overcrowded hospitals in January.

“In terms of the number of patients on trollies, this week there are 60% less than this week last year,” he said.

“Over the Christmas week, there were 80% less people on trollies than in the same period last year.

“If we look at the second half of 2023 which is really when we moved to this new approach; there were 15,000 fewer men women and children on trollies than there were in the same period in 2022.”

There is still more work to do, according to Minister Donnelly, despite early successes of the new approach which aims for speedier discharges.

“Not for a moment am I suggesting that this is fixed, not for a moment,” he said.

“I’m acutely aware there are too many patients on trollies but, critically, and thanks to the huge efforts of healthcare workers, we are now moving in the right direction.”

16-year-old Aoife Johnston died from meningitis at University Hospital in Limerick in December 2022 after waiting hours for treatment.

Minister Donnelly also commented on criticism from the family of Aoife Johnson over a lack of consultation into the terms of an inquiry into her death.

“The advice they [the HSE] got was to have a process where there can be accountability," he said.

“For there to be accountability, nobody gets to input into the terms of reference – no health care workers, hospital management or families.

“On a human level, it is not what you want, on a human level of course you want family’s input but that is the reason the HSE took this course of action.”

Minister Donnelly added the family was engaged with in earlier reviews and offered his “deepest condolences” for their loss.

Main image: Health Minister Stephen Donnelly at Government Buildings, 07-03-2023. Image: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie