Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I heard the interview this morning to which the Deputy refers. It was a bright morning and I heard Emma speak about her family, her community and how she feels about all of the normal things in life one sometimes takes for granted until they are taken away. The tragedy, anguish, anger and fear of which she spoke regarding her life, the consultation she has to have tomorrow and what that means for her and her family were harrowing to hear. As such, there are few words I can offer which recognise the scale of the tragedy and the vast difficulty Emma and her family are grappling with.

As Deputy Calleary acknowledged, there has been much debate in the House over the last number of weeks on this tragedy and the cases of the other women who have been affected. No one here has a monopoly on compassion or anguish and what we heard this morning reminded us of that. To answer the Deputy's questions, it is, of course, the case that the Taoiseach, the Minister for Health and the entire Government are completely committed to doing two things. First, we are committed to ensuring we establish why this happened, who is accountable and how it can be prevented in future. That is why the Government has put in place a scoping inquiry on the issue which will provide an interim report in the next number of weeks and a final report shortly thereafter. This is independent and is not being carried out by Government. Rather, it has been facilitated by the Government to get to the bottom of what happened quickly. Thereafter, we will move to a full commission of investigation on the issue. As to immediate accountability, there are two individuals who are no longer in post and performing their previous duties on foot of a recognition of the scale of difficulty and tragedy that has been created.

The second priority of the Government is to put in place all of the supports we can for women to offer comfort to them at a time of great vulnerability. That is why we have put in place the independent review of all audits which have taken place. That is why we moved quickly to make available consultations and further smear tests if needed. That is why a helpline was so quickly set up to provide consultations to women who clearly need and deserve this. Juxtaposing my words and the actions we are taking against the anguish on our airwaves this morning, it is clearly action that is needed. The Government has taken action and is committed for the sake of Emma and everyone else to seeing this through, establishing what has happened and providing all the support that can be provided to women at a time of such great anguish and need.

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