Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is the key point I want to make. This needs to come out. When Vicky Phelan brought this court case, there were two defendants, CPL and the HSE. The State Claims Agency was advising the HSE. As the senior officer, Mr. Breen was responsible for this advice. If disclosure had been made back in 2014, Vicky Phelan would be in a different position today. That is the key point here. The smear test reading was a major error. It was realised in 2014 that there was an incorrect reading in 2011. If she had been told at that time, medical action could have been taken and Vicky Phelan would be in a different position today.

If the State Claims Agency had accepted non-disclosure early on and it had discussed the case with Clinical Pathology Laboratories, CPL, it could have made an offer to Vicky Phelan, on the basis of the acceptance of non-disclosure, and she would not have had to be dragged publicly through the courts for four days, having had to reveal parts of her life that no one should be asked to reveal.