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

We have all been touched by the individual stories of women who had horrendous experiences with symphysiotomy. That is the reason the previous Government made a decision in July 2014 that we should not just listen to these stories but do something about them. A very distinguished judge, Ms Justice Maureen Harding Clark, was asked to carry out this report. It was agreed by the Government to establish an ex gratiapayment for women who underwent the procedure. We now have a comprehensive overview of the historical and medical context of symphysiotomy. The judge had a unique opportunity to compile this report. Indeed, her findings support the earlier findings of Professor Oonagh Walsh whose report was published in 2014.

The scheme was approved by the Government in November 2014 and its total cost was just under €34 million. Payments of €50,000, €100,000 or €150,000 were made to almost 400 women. At the time the Government made the decision to commission this report and to set up the scheme many of the women were facing uphill battles in courts. In addition, most of the women were of an older age group, so they faced a very uncertain outcome in this regard.

What we have done has ensured that women who have had a symphysiotomy applied to the scheme. I understand the judge took a very broad approach in terms of whether women could produce evidence so that as many as possible of the women could be included in the scheme. I am sure the Minister for Health would be happy to meet the Deputy to discuss the detail of the report. It is a very comprehensive one, and we consider that it deals with the issues because it provided an alternative and a non-adversarial option for the women, many of whom were elderly and did not want to pursue their cases through the courts. I am sure there would be no difficulty in having a debate on the report in the House. There has been a very thorough examination of the issues in the report and I believe its approach is very fair and comprehensive. As the Deputy said, there are perhaps one or two groups who take issue with the approach in the report but we have accepted its findings and we will stand by that.

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