Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank both witnesses for their statements just now. It is never easy to speak in public. To speak about matters that are so personal and have caused so much hurt and distress is particularly difficult. We volunteer to be in the public eye but neither of our guests is here by choice. I acknowledge the extraordinary work they have both done in patient advocacy. Listening to both of their statements, these have come at a cost. They have done their country a great service. I want to acknowledge that service and the price they have paid to stand up for other people and I thank them both for that.

I will start by asking Ms Walsh about the CervicalCheck steering committee, which is chaired by the Department of Health. She has given testimony to us this evening that suggests not much has changed and that women and patient representatives are being talked to. The language she used was very upsetting to hear, which essentially was that she was being handled and made feel irrelevant and unworthy. At no time is that acceptable. In the context of the CervicalCheck scandal, it is beyond comprehension that that could have happened. Does the CervicalCheck steering committee have the governance in place it needs? Do the patients on that committee have the support, voice and influence they must have? Is the steering committee sufficiently independent to act on behalf of patients and in doing so, to hold the State to account?