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

It has become clear that the Government has no sense of urgency or seriousness in addressing the CervicalCheck scandal. Instead of pursuing a genuinely victim-centred approach, it has opted to manage and contain the matter. An authentic approach would have put the affected women and their families first in a dedicated and comprehensive manner, rather than in a piecemeal way involving mere words, but that is certainly not happening. Delay and obstruction have been the overriding themes of this scandal and of the Government's handling of this most serious matter. Women are still being forced to go through the courts to access vital information from their medical records. The essential review of 3,000 cervical smear slides has not yet begun. In addition, the final report of the scoping investigation will be delayed. It is important to remember that the scoping exercise was supposed to be a fast and sharp inquiry, mindful of the fact that many of the women in question will become very sick. As we know, women have died. Sadly, some women are now dying. As recently as last Thursday, Fine Gael voted against a Sinn Féin Bill which sought to make open disclosure mandatory. I think that says it all. It says that the Government has not really prioritised this matter and does not really have a sense of the urgency that is required to deal with the issues being faced by these women and their families. To add insult to injury, we understand from campaign groups that women are not being given full and complete information on how to access the €2,000 assistance payment. We are being told that women are being sent into an information cul-de-sac by the HSE and the Department of Health. It has been reported today that only those expenses incurred since 11 May last can be recouped and recovered, which is crazy. The Taoiseach might confirm whether this is true. If it is true, it means that no account is being taken of the considerable expenses and loss of earnings incurred by some of the women who are at the centre of these cases. Yesterday, I raised the imperative of establishing an independent patient advocacy group, specifically for these women and their families. I am raising these issues again today because I am mindful that this is the last occasion on which the Taoiseach will take Leaders' Questions until September. When will the review of the 3,000 smears begin? When does the Taoiseach expect Dr. Scally to report? Will he recall the Dáil, if necessary, when the Scally report is published to establish the commission of inquiry? When will the independent advocacy group for the women and their families be established?

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