Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Page 62 of the programme for Government commits to the establishment of an independent patient advocacy service and this has not been met. Last Saturday, there were rallies throughout the State standing for women in support of the victims of the CervicalCheck scandal. Despite all of the pronouncements and announcements from the Taoiseach and others, serious issues remain for the women affected and for their families. Women are still being forced through the courts to access their medical files; they are being denied their own files. The essential review of 3,000 cervical smear slides has not begun. The final report of the scoping investigation being conducted by Dr. Gabriel Scally is delayed and women are also having terrible difficulty accessing the €2,000 payment that the Government announced. All of this signals that the Government is not serious about fully addressing this scandal or drawing lessons from it. The Taoiseach might be aware that Vicky Phelan and Stephen Teap last weekend called for an independent patient advocacy group to be established specifically for these women and their families. It strikes me as a bare minimum and a very practical idea. Will the Taoiseach make the funding and resources available so this advocacy resource can be afforded to the women and their families?

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