PAC chair calls for criminal investigation into deaths at Portlaoise Hospital
The chair of the Public Accounts Committee is calling for a criminal investigation into what he called a cover-up of deaths at Portlaoise Hospital.
It comes as Roisin Molloy, the mother of a baby who died at the hospital, says her family is being excluded from a review into avoidable deaths there.
Fianna Fáil's Sean Fleming says he has lost all confidence in the HSE's ability to deal with major incidents in hospitals as they have no re-training courses in place for consultants who get it wrong.
Speaking to Midlands 103, Deputy Fleming believes families in that position should consider going to the Gardaí.
"There should be criminal investigation for the cover-up," said Mr Fleming.
"If a child died and somebody tried to cover up the death and conceal it and made every effort to pretend it never happened, the guards have a role in that and I believe - and this is not about the medical staff on the ward - this is about the management at regional and senior level who covered up the death of a child.
"I think that requires garda investigation and I've said it for the last five years."
