Paul Murphy Calls for Independent Probe into Mihai Marandice's Death
Paul Murphy raised the death of seven-month-old Mihai Marandice, who died of sepsis in Temple Street Children's Hospital after transfer from Tala Hospital. He urged an independent investigation into the care Mihai received and asked whether delayed treatment could have affected the outcome.
The speech sets out a timeline presented by the family: Mihai was brought to Tala Hospital on Sunday at 6pm with a high fever and was sent home about six hours later. He returned the next day with a GP letter saying he needed urgent care; more tests were performed, but according to the family no medication beyond Calpol or Nurofen was given until around midnight, when antibiotics were finally administered. Mihai then developed red spots, his parents repeatedly sought assistance, and he was transferred at 5am on Tuesday to Temple Street Children’s Hospital where he died a few hours later. The family were later told he had meningitis.
Paul Murphy said the devastated parents, Nicolay and Eulacia, are seeking answers and that their solicitor had contacted him on their behalf. He emphasised the family's need to know what happened and whether the child could have been saved, reflecting the urgent demand for clarity from the bereaved parents.
Murphy explicitly asked the Taoiseach to agree that an independent investigation is needed into Mihai's care. The call focused on establishing facts around the timing and adequacy of treatment and ensuring accountability for the sequence of events described by the family.
The Taoiseach offered condolences and said Children's Health Ireland (CHI) has advised the Department that a review has been commissioned in relation to Mihai's care as part of the HSE's incident management framework. The Taoiseach said CHI will engage with the family on the review's terms of reference, discuss the level of family involvement and offer supports, and that it is not appropriate to comment further while the review and a coroner's inquest are pending.
The Taoiseach indicated support for an independent review and stressed that the family should be involved in shaping that review. The exchange leaves the CHI-commissioned review and the coroner's inquest as the immediate mechanisms for establishing the facts and determining next steps.
Allegations of delayed treatment
The speech sets out a timeline presented by the family: Mihai was brought to Tala Hospital on Sunday at 6pm with a high fever and was sent home about six hours later. He returned the next day with a GP letter saying he needed urgent care; more tests were performed, but according to the family no medication beyond Calpol or Nurofen was given until around midnight, when antibiotics were finally administered. Mihai then developed red spots, his parents repeatedly sought assistance, and he was transferred at 5am on Tuesday to Temple Street Children’s Hospital where he died a few hours later. The family were later told he had meningitis.
Family's questions and legal contact
Paul Murphy said the devastated parents, Nicolay and Eulacia, are seeking answers and that their solicitor had contacted him on their behalf. He emphasised the family's need to know what happened and whether the child could have been saved, reflecting the urgent demand for clarity from the bereaved parents.
Call for independent investigation
Murphy explicitly asked the Taoiseach to agree that an independent investigation is needed into Mihai's care. The call focused on establishing facts around the timing and adequacy of treatment and ensuring accountability for the sequence of events described by the family.
Official response and review process
The Taoiseach offered condolences and said Children's Health Ireland (CHI) has advised the Department that a review has been commissioned in relation to Mihai's care as part of the HSE's incident management framework. The Taoiseach said CHI will engage with the family on the review's terms of reference, discuss the level of family involvement and offer supports, and that it is not appropriate to comment further while the review and a coroner's inquest are pending.
Next steps and involvement of the family
The Taoiseach indicated support for an independent review and stressed that the family should be involved in shaping that review. The exchange leaves the CHI-commissioned review and the coroner's inquest as the immediate mechanisms for establishing the facts and determining next steps.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Mattie McGrath
Mattie McGrath criticises Fianna Fáil over failed USC pledge
Victor Boyhan
Victor Boyhan praises Melbourne Cup win, calls for transport policing
Éamon Ó Cuív
Éamon Ó Cuív Urges USC Relief, Warns on Corporation Tax Risks
Mattie McGrath
Mattie McGrath criticises HSE over Clonmel ophthalmology gap
Verona Murphy
Verona Murphy urges automatic fuel allowance for cancer patients
Richard Boyd Barrett
Richard Boyd Barrett: Proposes Wealth Tax to Scrap USC
Transcript
Taoiseach, I want to raise an extremely tragic case with you. On Tuesday 24th September, Mihai Marandice died of sepsis in Temple Street Children's Hospital after being transferred by ambulance from Tala Hospital. He was seven months old. His devastated parents, Nicolay and Eulacia, are looking for answers. Their solicitor contacted me this morning on their behalf. At six o'clock on the Sunday, they brought their baby into Tala Hospital with a high fever. Six hours later, they were told he was fine, so they took him home. But by three o'clock on Monday, they were back with the GP's letter saying he needed to be treated urgently. More tests were performed, but no medication other than Calpol or Nurofen were given until around midnight, nine hours later, when he was finally given antibiotics. He then began to develop red spots on his body. His parents repeatedly ran for assistance, but nobody came. At 5 a.m. on Tuesday, he was transferred to Temple Street, where he died a few hours later. The family were told that he had meningitis. His dad said, he was so awesome. He was a bright and beautiful boy. What happened to him? We need to know, could he have been saved? The family needs to know. I think we need to know. Taoiseach, would you agree there needs to be an independent investigation into this? I absolutely would, Deputy Murphy. I want to join with you in offering my sincere condolences to the family of baby Mihai on their tragic loss. CHI, Children's Health Ireland, have advised the department that a review has been commissioned in relation to Mihai's care, which is a normal process under the HSE's incident management framework. They also say they will engage with the family on the terms of reference and to discuss the level of involvement that the family wish to have in the review. They'll also engage with the family to offer supports at what is an extraordinarily difficult time. It's not appropriate for me to comment further on Mihai's case while that review is underway and a coroner's inquest is still pending. But I obviously do want to offer my deepest sympathies to the family, and I do believe that independent review and the family need to be involved in what that looks like. Thank you. Thank you.