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

The Deputy made the point that he found it difficult, or even impossible, to imagine what it would be like to walk the journey Emma is walking this morning and how we would deal with and what we would say to those whom we love and to our own families. We often come across tragic situations, but our ability to understand them or to walk in the shoes of those affected is so constrained because the hurt and tragedy are so great. What we heard about this morning is one such tragedy. I agree with what the Deputy said about imagining what it would be like for those conversations to take place and how that family feels today. I am aware that this private anguish has now become a matter of such public interest and is so visible, and we must respect the family at all points as they grapple with what their mother and Emma herself are dealing with.

I know Deputy Kelly is engaged with the Minister for Health on matters other than those he has put to me, and I thank him for the way in which he has done that. Regarding the three points Deputy Kelly put to me, first, of course, any support we can offer to women dealing with what this means for their lives and their health we will make available. We know how they feel at present, we know the questions that must be answered, we know that women who had information about their health that was not shared with them were let down, and we must respond to that, as this Government will.

Regarding the Deputy's second question about the timing for the roll-out of HPV testing and when it will happen, any help I can give to the Minister for Health and the HSE in making this happen, of course, I and the rest of the Government will give.

On the commission of inquiry and how much of it should be held in public, this will be a matter for when we set up such a commission and for the person who will run it. I do not need to tell the Deputy - he will be aware of this - that there may well be citizens who will participate in this commission who do not want their participation to be public, particularly in light of the scale of private anguish with which they are dealing. I would have no objection to any dimension of that being made public if the judge or person leading the commission of inquiry decides to do so and, of course, if the citizen, the person participating in it, gives his or her consent for that to happen. We all need to be mindful of the scale of private tragedy faced by a number of families at present.

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