Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government agreed the scheme last July. The Minister responded to the concern of the group and decided that an independent assessor would administer the scheme rather than the State Claims Agency. As the Deputy knows the scheme will be simple, straightforward and non-adversarial. Awards of €50,000, €100,000 or €150,000 will be made to women who provide evidence that they had a surgical symphysiotomy. The amount of the award will depend on the assessment of the effect the symphysiotomy had on each of the women. Medical assessments will be arranged for women with no medical records. The Minister also stressed that he planned to make arrangements to respond to individual queries from women or family members so that the scheme is as user-friendly as possible. He also clarified that there is no obligation on the women involved to waive their right to go to court as a precondition of joining the scheme. The previous Minister, Deputy Reilly, had made that arrangement. Women may opt out of the scheme at any stage in the process up to the time of accepting their awards. If they accept an award they will have to sign a waiver promising to discontinue any legal proceedings against the party arising out of that.

I can assure Deputy Adams that women will have their applications dealt with speedily. This is a sensitive issue. They will receive payments within a number of months. It is a genuine effort to recognise their suffering, what they went through and the difficulties and scars they have had to bear since, and to try to assist them in dealing with a very sad, traumatic and difficult chapter in their lives. I hope that confirmation will bring some comfort to the women.

We previously discussed the other matter raised by the Deputy - namely, the Good Friday Agreement and the talks due to begin. I am happy that we have come to a position whereby the Irish and British Governments, as co-guarantors of the agreement, can involve themselves in, it is to be hoped, bringing some matters to a conclusion. The Minister, Deputy Flanagan, has been in regular contact with the Secretary of State, Ms Theresa Villiers MP. I spoke to President Clinton last week in New York about the necessity for progress, as I am sure Deputy Adams did.

We can discuss Acht na Gaeilge, the bill of rights and other matters such the murder of Pat Finucane. We need a serious analysis of the situation. I understand some remains were discovered this morning, which is welcome and will, it is to be hoped, bring consolation and closure to whatever family is involved. Murders and deaths occurred on all sides. We are moving forward with the new systems in place, such as the PSNI and the judicial system. We need to find a mechanism to deal with the sensitive issues of the past because, if they are transferred into the new system, the same problems will be recreated in a different way. We need to be a bit more imaginative and creative about where and how we want the process to go. There are thousands of people who want closure for their particular problems. People are still affected by the murder of Pat Finucane, the events at Ballymurphy and Kingsmill and whatever else. We need to determine how we can open that reservoir in a way that will bring some sense of closure to the people involved.

If one takes it and tries to transfer it into a modern system in which there are new judicial people and legal systems are being changed, it poisons the entire system again. We must reflect on where we should be and how we might get there in a different way. The Deputy knows from our history that this is going back a very long time and it is locked in there. We must explore different ways of releasing that anxiety and emotion and achieving a sense of closure.

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