Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Sinn Féin motion. There is general support for the thrust of it. Patients must trust that they are getting the full facts from their doctors as soon as is practical. In turn, doctors must feel free to share sensitive information without fear of legal consequences. Mandatory reporting is needed to achieve this. The Government has indicated that mandatory reporting will be implemented, but one has to question why it was not in place before now. In 2016, the then Minister for Health and current Taoiseach said he would not introduce mandatory reporting even though he had promised to introduce it a year previously. Last year, the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, decided to introduce a voluntary open disclosure scheme rather than a mandatory one. It should not have taken the Vicky Phelan case for the Government to act. All the woman affected by this scandal, and indeed all patients, deserve full disclosure on the part of the HSE and the Government. We know there is something deeply wrong with the culture in parts of the HSE. The current scandal with the CervicalCheck programme, which has left women in doubt about the results of their tests, is one of the highest magnitude. Irish women deserve better. The courage of the women affected by the scandal in the face of deception of the worst kind by the HSE is nothing short of amazing. All the women who have been affected by this scandal must receive all the facts regarding their cases.

Trust in respect of any issue is hard won. In this case, the HSE has lost the trust of the women of the country. The concept of screening the population for a potentially life-threatening disease was forward thinking but who can trust the system when those responsible for running it have deceived their patients and dragged them through the courts? Those responsible within the HSE should be ashamed of themselves.

We must be very clear that no other woman should have to enter into legal battle with the HSE to get the truth about her medical records. The women of this country want to see real action and not an endless charade of investigations with no tangible outcome. It is a defining moment in how serious the Government is about bringing the HSE under control. It is also a defining moment when we will see if the Taoiseach, who is responsible for this Government, has real compassion for the women of the country and does not view them as a further opportunity for self-promotion.

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