Former health ministers urged to come clean on vulnerable children dossiers

People Before Profit: 'This echoes State activity you would more associate with authoritarian regimes and tyrannies'

Richard Boyd Barrett. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

People Before Profit has called on former health ministers in Cabinet to answer questions on what they knew about dossiers being gathered on vulnerable children by the Department of Health.

It has emerged that the Department of Health solicited sensitive information about children with autism and their families who were previously involved in legal actions against the State.

This medical and educational information was used to build and maintain dossiers on the children without the knowledge and consent of their parents.

There are currently four former health ministers who sit at Cabinet: the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Simon Harris, and current incumbent Stephen Donnelly.

The socialist party says they must "urgently" answer questions on what they knew about the practice.

"Former health ministers who are currently members of the Cabinet should come before the Dáil this week and answer questions about the really scandalous revelations, in terms of the gathering of secret dossiers by the Department of Health on vulnerable children and families," Richard Boyd Barrett said.

"The idea that the Department of Health were gathering secret files on some of the most vulnerable children and our families, in order to prevent legal action or to address legal action or potential legal action taken by those families is really really shocking. It is truly sinister and frightening."

This echoes the sort of deep State activity you would more associate with authoritarian regimes and tyrannies.

"We need urgent answers as to what former health ministers knew about the gathering of these secret files and what senior officials knew about gathering of secret files."

Mr Boyd Barrett said the public needs to know over what time period these files were being gathered, the families involved should have access to those files, and there should be a completely independent investigation of the Department of Health, HSE, and any government departments that were involved in the gathering of the files.

The Health Committee last week wrote to Stephen Donnelly requesting the report from senior counsel to be shared with the committee.

Secretary general of the Department of Health Robert Watt has also been invited to appear before the committee.

The Department of Health said it commissioned an independent review into the matters raised in the documentary. It said no breach of the Data Protection Acts was identified.