FATHER ACCUSED OF CHILD ABUSE BY DR MOIRA WOODS NOW ON 6th DAY OF HUNGER STRIKE

Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2007

STATEMENT FROM EDDIE HERNON

'Having been party to the Medical Council Inquiry into the professional misconduct of Dr Moira Woods and as this matter, which dates back to January of 1987, and still has not reached closure nor is likely to in the near future, I have taken the decision to publish, through the internet, the transcripts of the Medical Council Inquiry into Dr Moira Woods.'

Mr Eddie Hernon, and 4 other father had been found guilty of child sexual abuse by Dr Moire Woods. It was subsequently discovered the evidence provided by Dr Woods was in many cases falsified.Dr Woods was found guilty by the Irish Medical Council of professional Misconduct, yet no effort has made to get Dr Woods to return from her residence in Spain to answer these charges. Five families lives destroyed , and they have suffered years of frustration in their efforts to get her to return to Ireland to apologise to these families, and make recompense to these fathers for the years of suffering she has caused them.

Mr Hernon, besides having just recovered from serious cardiac surgery is determined to highlight this horrific case, and to fight for justice to the end if necessary.

On the 26th January 2002 the Irish Times carried a report, by Ms Carol Coulter, stating that Dr Moira Woods had been found guilty of professional misconduct and wide reference was made to the Report on the findings of the Fitness to Practise Committee in relation to Dr Woods. We are well aware that a copy of this particular report by the Fitness to Practise Committee had been leaked to the Irish Times. I enclose a copy of the actual report which was leaked to the media.

At the conclusion of the Inquiry by the Fitness to Practise Committee into the now confirmed professional misconduct of Dr Moira Woods the Fitness to Practise Committee found in favour of complainants Hernon (Dublin), Smith (Dublin) and Flynn (Co Tipperary).

In relation to the Ralph (Dublin) case and the Flynn (Dublin) case the Committee found that the Registrar had not proved his case beyond a reasonable doubt. Also, there were no findings in relation to the other three formal complaints lodged to the Medical Council concerning Dr Moira Woods.

Although Mr Justice Barr ruled that the Fitness to Practise Committee of the Medical Council could publish their findings, to date the Medical Council have declined.

I now wish to refer to a Department of Health memo dated 23 May 1994, which was published in the February 2002 edition of Magill magazine. It is quite clear from reading this memo that the Minister for Health and his officials were acutely aware of the possibility that injustices had been done and that innocent people had been falsely accused of the sexual abuse of their own child. For the Minister for Health and his officials in the Department of Health to acknowledge that there was a possibility of injustices in relation to one or more of 50 cases of false accusations of child sexual abuse and to do nothing about it was outrageous and scandalous.

I must point out forcefully, of the 50 cases of false accusations put before the Minister for Health seven of the eight complainants to the Medical Council were listed.

What is clear from this particular memo is that the Department of Health and the Minister for Health were fully aware that innocent Irish citizens had suffered a gross injustice, a serious violation of their Constitutional Rights to their good names and the profound psychological trauma and distress suffered by these innocent families.

Suffice to say that the Minister for Health and his officials in the Department of Health colluded to keep these injustices secret at the expense of untold suffering by falsely accused families.

I now call on you as the Minister for Justice in the present administration to set in motion a full public statutory inquiry into what exactly went on in the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit of the Rotunda Hospital, the part played by the Minister for Health and officials from the Department of Health, why there were findings of guilt by the Medical Council in relation to three families who had complained about Dr Moira Woods and in particular why there were no findings of guilt on the part of Dr Woods in relation to the Ralph (Dublin) case and the Flynn (Dublin) case.

I also call upon you to redress the balance regarding our Constitutional Right to our good names by setting up a full public statutory inquiry to investigate the 1550 alleged cases of child sexual abuse validated by Dr Moira Woods during her tenure as leader of the team of part-time doctors working in the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit of the Rotunda Hospital and particularly in the light of the attached copy of the 1994 Department of Health memo.

I submit, that natural justice requires that justice be done and be seen to be done. In these cases cited in this letter justice was done to three of eight falsely accused parents but not seen to be done. In relation to the other cases justice was not done nor seen to be done.

Trusting you will consider our request that the Department of Justice, in the interest of natural justice and the Constitutional Rights of those falsely accused of the heinous crimes of incest and child sexual abuse, sets up a public statutory Inquiry into false accusations of child abuse and redress the balance in favour of innocent Irish citizens.
Trusting you will revert at your earliest,

Yours sincerely,

Edward P. Hernon

They have been advised that the only way to solve the matter would to have a statutory investigation to bring Dr Woods to justice.

Mr Hernon is now on his 6 day of hunger strike outside the Dail, and despite the danger to his health, states he will keep going for as long as it takes to get this investigation underway.

This mans search for justice has taken him to the end of the road for him.

Will anyone listen?, will anyone take up his cause for him?.

For information call Eddie Hernon:087-2897070