Mr. Tony O'Brien:

I thank Deputy Donnelly for the courteous way in which he has addressed the question. I appreciate it. It is correct to say these are significant issues. Last week, the committee heard from all of the other witnesses present who indicated I had not, in fact, been informed of the circumstances of this case and neither did I know it was coming, in circumstances where, in fact, it would have been relatively straightforward for them to get themselves off the hook by stating I had. They had no particular benefit in not doing so. I intend to continue the work it has been agreed with the Minister that I will do to address all of the issues which are of significant concern. I appreciate the Deputy is suggesting I should resign without prejudice. I am not 100% sure what that really means, but I understand it is intended to be polite and intended to be respectful and I do not take that away from the Deputy.

With regard to the operation of the helpline, it is, of course, important to note that while full clinical consultations have not been completed with all of those waiting for them, they are being provided at an accelerated pace with significant commitment from a huge number of medical professionals, most of whom worked throughout the bank holiday weekend and continue to work. It would be wrong to think this means there has not been any follow up. There have been further updates by text and other means to indicate those calls are going to be made. It would be very easy for us to carry out a cosmetic exercise of having an unqualified person make a return call to all of those women, which would be of little or no value. Instead what we are doing is ensuring a meaningful complete clinical follow-up with each person who requested one, which can take half an hour or more to be effective. While clearly it would be preferable if they could all have been done more quickly, as a matter of practical reality that could not be done in a meaningful way which would bring benefits to the women who have requested those calls. While I recognise the concern, I believe the effort under way to address that concern is appropriate and meaningful. I understand the Deputy's point but I respectfully decline to accept his invitation to resign, without prejudice or otherwise.