Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The daily drip feed of revelations about the cervical cancer smear scandal and the reports into the deaths of babies in Portiuncula and Portlaoise hospitals have undermined confidence in the healthcare service and added to the trauma of the families affected. Without the remarkable courage of Vicky Phelan, the cervical smear scandal might never have become public. Her rejection of a demand to sign a confidentiality agreement was a hugely courageous and selfless act. It is proof that not only was the State covering up what was happening, it was also asking the victims to collude in that cover-up. The Oireachtas should be equally courageous and resolute in how it confronts and tackles this scandal.

It is imperative that the Government urgently introduce strong legislation requiring mandatory open disclosure in the HSE before the summer recess. Nothing less will do. Nothing less will work. The distress and grief of Emma Mhic Mhathúna, Paul Reck, Stephen Teap and many others demands that the Government take all necessary steps to ensure that there is no repeat of this scandal or of any of the others that have bedevilled the health service over the years.

There have been too many such scandals. In the 1990s, over 1,000 people, mainly women, were infected with contaminated blood products. The Blood Transfusion Service Board was warned about the matter but failed to tell those who had received the products. A report published three years ago revealed that at least 260 people who were infected with hepatitis C have died in the 20 years since the facts first emerged. Louise O’Keefe is another victim of the culture of secrecy and cover-up. It took her 15 years to win her legal battle to force the Government to pay compensation for the abuse she endured as a pupil. Many elderly women who were victims of symphysiotomy are still fighting for truth and compensation. Let us not forget the women victims of the Magdalen laundries or the mother and baby homes, or Savita Halappanavar and countless others. We must also recall that the State forces many victims, particularly women, of anomalies, injustice, malpractice or misgovernance, particularly within the health system, to fight long, expensive and stressful legal battles. Until now, successive Governments have endorsed that punitive approach. The Government approach has been to fight every case tooth and nail.

The Government stated that it will not oppose our motion but that is not the same as supporting it. I ask the Minister, Deputy Harris, to clarify the Government's position in that regard. I appeal to every Deputy to support the Sinn Féin motion and I commend Deputy Louise O'Reilly on bringing forward. I appeal to the Government to go beyond its current position by speedily introducing the legislation required for mandatory open disclosure.

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