Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Over the past 24 hours we have learned that two women with cervical cancer who had contacted CervicalCheck in 2016 were refused direct access to the results of the audit of their smear tests. This information is contained in a letter from CervicalCheck to the chief medical officer, Dr. Tony Holohan, in October 2016. A separate memo in March 2016 says that doctors were told to use their judgment when deciding whether to inform women that their smear test results were wrong. Such revelations highlight once again the urgent need for mandatory open disclosure to be legislated for as soon as possible. I welcome the all-party support for Sinn Féin’s motion last night calling for this legislation to be introduced before the summer recess.

As Minister for Health, the Taoiseach promised to introduce mandatory disclosure but, following advice from the chief medical officer, he changed his mind. That was the wrong advice and the wrong decision in 2016. Many of the women who are affected by the CervicalCheck scandal are only now being informed of their misread results. The fact that the then Minister did a U-turn on his previous position on the basis of his advice indicates that the chief medical officer was a trusted and valuable source of advice for the Minister. When one considers the fact that the chief medical officer was informed of this scandal around the same time, it would be useful and important to know the nature of the advice given to the then Minister in that regard. Was it informed by knowledge of the CervicalCheck scandal or was it informed by any other medical scandal?

If the chief medical officer knew of the issues surrounding CervicalCheck, it raises questions around how or why he did not inform the Minister of the issues at the time, as has been claimed by the Minister. As the lead medical expert in the Department of Health, it is the job, duty and responsibility of the chief medical officer to advise and inform the Minister. The fact that he claims not to have raised these matters with the Minister raises profound questions on the operation of the Department of Health and what exactly Ministers are told. I ask the Minister, Deputy Bruton, to respond to this point.

Cultural, organisational and management failures have been identified as a result of this scandal. Central to building confidence in every aspect of our health service must be the need for information, clarity and accountability. All of that can be done if the political will is there. Sinn Féin supports cancer screening services. Let there be no doubt about that and let the message ring load and clear. Screening services are vital in assisting in the early detection of cancers, but we need to ensure there is full public confidence and trust in the service. Getting to the bottom of the failures identified as part of the CervicalCheck service can assist in rebuilding trust.

I put to the Minister a question that I put to the Taoiseach yesterday. Will the Minister tell the House when the cervical cancer screening audit and documentation relating to the US laboratories, which was promised to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health last week, will be published? Will the Minister ensure that this information is published today? He is in the Government, after all, so can he ensure it is published? Perhaps the Minister will also respond to reports in the media that despite the resignation of Mr. Tony O'Brien on Friday, he will continue to be paid until the end of his contract in July? Will the Minister inform Members what the Minister did when this information broke on the public airwaves as a result of the bravery of Vicky Phelan? Did the Minister not have a conversation with the chief medical officer? Did the Minister have a conversation with the director general of the HSE? What assurances did they give to the Minister about the knowledge they had on this scandal and around the fact that they had failed to provide the information to these women?

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