Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House to address this important issue. I note that the House is exclusively occupied by women here to speak on this issue. It shows the importance of this subject to female legislators, policymakers and Members of this House. It also demonstrates the importance of showing our solidarity with the women and families affected by the terrible tragedy that is the CervicalCheck scandal. I am sure all of us have been through the CervicalCheck system in the normal way. It saves lives and it is fantastic to have a screening programme, but it is important that the screening programme is fit for purpose. The bravery of women who spoke out, like Vicky Phelan and the members of the 221+ support group and their families, means we will now have a better system than before. It is something positive to take away from what is an awful blight on our State’s history of providing women’s healthcare.

One important thing to emerge from this tragedy is that before this CervicalCheck scandal broke many people, including me, misunderstood what the screening programme was there to do. Sometimes we went away with a false sense of security that getting a negative result meant the all clear. We might not have taken symptoms we then experienced as seriously as we would have otherwise. I feel like I have been educated by the whole process. If you get a screening test appointment now you will take it and if you get a negative result, that is fantastic and you get a sense of relief from it. You are still more vigilant, though, because you know that it does not mean you are 100% clear all of the time and that you do not ignore symptoms. That was not made clear previously. I did not understand that as a young girl going to get my first smear test. I did not understand that a number of cases would not get picked up. The real failing of the system was that we did not properly educate young girls and women about what the screening programme did and was intended to do. It is definitely important to get screened, but it is also important to not ignore symptoms thereafter. It is still important that we get that message out to young girls and women who will be going through this system. We must encourage as many as possible to go through the system.

I welcome that the Bill proposes an extension to the final date for the receipt of claims. It is important that we give more people time and that we do not rush through this process. Time is always welcome. It is good to have this legislation coming through the House in that regard. The Bill also allows us to discuss other issues. More than 6,000 women every year get early detection and treatment. Those are lives saved every year and that is something for us to be proud of as a State. We are doing something right in this area of women’s healthcare. I also welcome the introduction of the human papilloma virus, HPV, test last year. That is a positive step. The old test, if I am correct, caught seven out of ten cases, whereas the new test detects nine out of ten cases. We have greater detection rates now and a more robust and safer screening programme in which we can have greater confidence. That is very important.

While we are making great headway in this area, I acknowledge that there are still women and their families dealing with the fallout from the CervicalCheck scandal and they will be dealing with it for the rest of their lives. I think of the children left behind and the husbands and partners who have been bereaved. It is a very sad situation. While discussing this issue today, we must bear in mind that many of those women are still trying to fight their cases or have fought their cases. I commend the 221+ support group that has undertaken amazing advocacy for women in this country. It has kept this CervicalCheck issue live, to the fore and as a priority. I say that because things in this job move at a great pace and we must deal with many issues as legislators and policymakers. The Minister for Health also has to deal with many other issues going on in the State. However, the 221+ group has been fantastic in ensuring that this issue stays to the fore.

I ask for one reassurance from the Minister today. On foot of everything the country and the women of Ireland have been through, it has been really upsetting for women to listen to all of this. It was especially difficult when this CervicalCheck issue first arose. You could have been sitting in the car, listening to reports on the radio and then wondering if your test was okay and if you needed to go and get rechecked. That whole issue was there. Every woman across the country felt that anxiety and was wondering if she was okay and if she needed to get rechecked. Therefore, there is a healing process here for us to go through as a State. If we can take one thing away from this whole matter, it will be to ensure that we educate and better inform young girls and women about the screening programme, what it does, its benefits and also its flaws. It is a flawed system and no system is perfect. If we can do that, then we will protect and save the lives of more girls and women in the future. It is a positive takeaway from this whole situation. If it is possible to find one positive aspect of this situation, that is it.

It is good to be here on the floor of the House with so many other female legislators and policymakers, colleagues in the Seanad, to discuss this important issue. It is also important that we have a female Acting Chair. I commend the Bill to the House.