Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I do, actually. I am thinking back to my time as Minister of Health and the CervicalCheck scandal emerged. I recall there was an initial call in these Houses for a commission of investigation, for very good reasons. It was seen as a mechanism to establish the truth. We engaged a lot with women and patients affected. I am going from my memory now, and I do not wish to say there was cross-party consensus, but I think there was in the end, that actually the Scally process could achieve the answers that people were looking for. The Department of Health commissioned an independent expert in Dr. Gabriel Scally.

It is fair to say he won the confidence of the women who were impacted and the confidence of the Houses of the Oireachtas. He delivered an excellent report with excellent recommendations. My gut answer on this is that we need to be careful that we do not just reach for a commission of investigation as the default position. We must consider whether there are other ways. Bringing in an independent expert who, crucially, has the confidence of policymakers and of those impacted can, at times, be a more effective way of doing business.