The Minister must explain

The meeting today between Minister for Health Mícheál Martin and Jimmy Livingstone, the father of the woman whose newborn infant died after she was turned away from Monaghan Hospital, will be a traumatic one.

Whether the Minister can answer the questions which Mr Livingstone needs to put to him, explaining why his little grand-daugher was a victim of economic expediency, will be a matter between both men.

The North Eastern Health Board’s report on what happened has been received by the Minister and has been forwarded to an independent review team for “validation and evaluation.”

Mr Livingstone and his family, especially his daughter Denise, need answers to assuage the justifiable anger they feel towards a system which allowed the little, premature baby girl to die. The Minister has experienced the tragedy of a child’s unexpected death in his own family, and will be compassionate at that meeting.

But what the Livingstones badly need are answers, and they are entitled to them.

The minister is in a position to supply them and under the incredibly sad circumstances it would be understandable if Mr Livingstone and his family did not have to wait for it to enter the public domain.