Delay in publishing baby report undermines Ireland’s health watchdog

The “independence” of Ireland’s health watchdog will be permanently undermined if it is prevented from publishing its damning report into baby deaths at Portlaoise Hospital.

Making the claim during leaders questions’, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin accused Taoiseach Enda Kenny of allowing the HSE to gag the Health Information Quality Authority (Hiqa) in “secret”, behind-closed-doors meetings.

Mr Martin said the watchdog must be supported, as he responded to revelations that the HSE threatened to sue Hiqa if it published its investigation, reported to contain 250 adverse findings.