Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

My only concern from the outset, as it is with any medical, surgical or health issue, is for the individual, that we provide the best service at any time and the best medical standards we can, and, if something goes wrong for whatever reason, that we try to correct that to the very best of our ability in the interest of patient health and safety. That is my only concern.

I do not know why Mr. Peter Naughton, the consultant surgeon in Portlaoise, decided to carry out a review of ultrasounds separate to the work being done by Dr. Ann O'Doherty on the mammograms. I am not a consultant but, from what other consultants have said, I assume Dr. Peter Naughton was trying to be sure. He was checking and going back over issues where he thought perhaps something was missed. That is what it seems he was doing. That does not appear unwise, given that other people were involved and in the circumstances of somebody's work being called into question. Dr. Ann O'Doherty is an expert in this area and she has been praised by all her colleagues for the work she has done. I accept Deputy Gilmore would add his praise to that. I am sure she has been trying to go through the 3,707 mammograms. Writing the report is important but it is secondary to that job. When we have her report, we will deal with it. I will not put pressure on her, other than to do that. We will have the report when it is available and then we will deal with the issue.

I do not wish to take great issue with Deputy Gilmore, but if he checks the record of what I said on the first day when this came up, I said I would not stand up in the House as a non-medical expert and start making comments about what one did not have to be much of an expert to see. The consultants who examined this did not believe that the service given by somebody who had misread a number of these mammograms was satisfactory. That was their view and that is what I said. However, I said that was not a judgment I was in a position to make, nor was I going to blame somebody I did not know. I was not competent to do so. What I said was that I believed there were issues surrounding the medical competence of somebody reading these mammograms and it appeared that others, who were experts, believed that this rate of error was not acceptable. Rather than a judgment being made by me or any other lay person, Dr. Ann O'Doherty was brought in to make it. We will see what that judgment is in due course. That is the position.

I do not agree that this was left sitting for months. Decisions have been made about moving services, reviewing cases and bringing in experts to assist the unfortunate people who had to go through the shock and hurt of what happened, for which everybody has expressed regret. I do not believe that the Deputy's comments are fair.

If Deputy Gilmore had a free vote on his side of the House, a large number of his Deputies would vote for the Minister, Deputy Harney, tomorrow night. That is my view.

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