Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have a mechanism to support those who are outside the country to ensure they access medical services, which was agreed by the Government this morning. The issue of vulnerable persons was also included in the heads of the Bill that went to Cabinet earlier to ensure there is legal provision for relatives or other appropriate persons to act on behalf of the women who do not have the capacity to act on their own behalf. That is included in the legislation that will come before the House. That will deal with the issues the Deputy raised regarding women who have mental health difficulties or are vulnerable, or those who are in living in nursing homes and need support.

The Deputy also asked whether all the records were being made available. Every effort is being made to get them and all the applicants have agreed that the Department can approach other agencies to get whatever information is available. It is probably difficult to judge precisely how much co-operation there has been but, clearly, every effort is being made to ask for the records and I hope people will co-operate.

With regard to appeals, one can appeal to the Ombudsman, but if applicants disagree with the provisional assessment made by the restorative justice implementation team, they can request an internal review of their case. If there are cases the Deputy feels require a further internal review, that will be possible. There are five internal review cases on hand and ten applicants have lodged an appeal with the Ombudsman's office.

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