Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste has said this is about accountability and a breach of trust. I argue that it is also about the privatisation of women's healthcare. When we delve into the inquiry that is promised, we have to look at how outsourcing since 2008 has impacted the results of screening and led to women dying as a consequence. It has also led to an award by a private company to Vicky Phelan. Why else would it pay her off, if it was not guilty? We have also asked for a breakdown of the final 208 false tests to show what clinics they came from. I want to preface what I will say by saying to every woman that we must stick with the programme of screening under CervicalCheck. It is really important that women stick with that programme. I am not playing politics when I make this point. We found out yesterday that the State Claims Agency received a request for Ms Phelan's files in January. The head of the national screening programme knew in March that a claim was going to court. He kicked it up the line to the head of national screening who it kicked up the line to the Department, which knew in March. The Minister did not know.

I will make it simple for everybody here. I have a diagram of the transitional organisation structure of the HSE here and I have coloured the Minister in in blue to match the colour of his shirt. The risk committee is answerable to the Minister. The director general, Tony O'Brien, is answerable to the Minister. None of them told the Minister, even though he is the boss. He is at the head of all of this. None of them told him but none of them has been fired or suspended. Going right down the line to where the information first came in, nobody is in trouble for this. I know a young hospital worker who was suspended for two months because she criticised HSE spending and the trolley crisis in a Facebook post. The Minister has to make heads roll in that Department for failing to tell him and failing to be accountable. If he does not, he should go because somebody has to go here. I do not believe the Minister that he did not know. I do not believe Tony O'Brien and I do not believe that the Minister's Department is not full of people who are trying to cover this up. If the Minister believes that they are not trying to cover this up, that they are all innocent and they are all okay, then he is failing to do his job. The Minister at the head of the organisation. The fish rots from the head and the Minister needs to deal with it or else he needs to resign.

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