Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In recent weeks, there has been a number of cases before the tribunal. Cases were taken where the State Claims Agency did consent. However, the laboratories did not consent. As a result, the State Claims Agency withdrew. Not only did it withdraw, but it challenged those women on statute, as being statute barred. This is despite the fact that the Minister had extended it twice. I flagged this issue countless times. They were in statute at the end of January 2022. They have met the requirements. However, in the correspondence from the State Claims Agency, they were claimed to be challenging statute. The first question is, why? Second, how can Mr. Breen say the letter stating they can solely sue the HSE was honoured? When the laboratories withdrew from those two cases the agency not only withdrew but, shockingly, it also challenged both ladies, who are of limited means, on their costs. I would love to hear the explanation for this.