Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Kelly's amendment would result in a cost on the State. There is also the question of the liabilities on other private entities such as laboratories that have defended cases. There is obviously a case to answer or otherwise they would not have been to court. Our job is not to defend them or deflect attention away from them. That is outside our remit and the issue needs careful examination. As Deputy O'Connell noted, we must recognise that we must think first about the patients and the manner in which individual cases were dealt with. We must consider how we can in some way alleviate the serious trauma caused for the women involved in many of the cases.