Thomas Pringle TD

Pringle reads from Brandon report on Dáil floor, and repeats call for report to be published

Pringle reads from Brandon report on Dáil floor, and repeats call for report to be published

Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, read from the Brandon Report on the floor of the Dáil yesterday and today, to keep attention focused on the still unpublished report.

Deputy Pringle said later: “There’s still no movement by the HSE to publish the report. They continue to drag their heels on this.”

Early last month, Deputy Pringle called on the Tánaiste to call for publication of the Brandon Report into sexual abuse at Ard Gréine Court in Ballybofey. The deputy said there has been no movement from the HSE on publication since.

Deputy Pringle first raised the Brandon Report in the Dáil in July, after working with a whistleblower who had come to him in 2016. Deputy Pringle said he raised the issue in the Dáil due to the lack of an adequate response during those years.

The deputy read from the report into the Dáil record this week to ensure the matter stays in the public eye and the report gets published. He read from the report for a total of about 20 minutes, during his speaking opportunities on Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon on the Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2021.

Speaking later, Deputy Pringle said: “The HSE, gardaí and HIQA all have questions to answer in relation to how they responded – or didn’t respond – to the needs of very vulnerable people. This was a catastrophic failure, and the report must be published to give families the answers they have been seeking for too long.”

In response to Deputy Pringle’s remarks last month, the Tánaiste told Deputy Pringle that the Government would press the HSE and gardaí to have the report published and said Minister Anne Rabbitte had also indicated that the focus must be on ensuring that the report’s findings and recommendations are appropriately dealt with.