Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Given that the numbers involved will rise very significantly - the State Claims Agency has ten cases currently and, tragically, three of those women have died - and there will be many more cases of women who develop cancer where their smears were misread and they were not told as soon as that information had become available to the State, how will that be dealt with to avoid a situation where women, their partners or widowers will be dragged through the courts? What will the agency do to avoid that situation, to deal with this issue humanely and compassionately, and to ensure the cases are dealt with quickly?