Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil welcomes the final publication of the Scally report and urges the swift implementation of its 50 recommendations. The report is a truly shocking indictment of a key public health service.

Public confidence in the CervicalCheck system has been shaken. The trust thousands of women had placed in the system has been breached. From the perspective of a woman, mother, daughter and sister, I felt disappointed and let down by the system in which every other woman and I had put our trust. Thank God for Vicky Phelan, that courageous and amazing woman. Many thanks to Stephen Teap who lost his wife, the mother of his two boys. That family's life for the past few years must have been a nightmare. What about the bravery of Emma Mhic Mhathúna who is living with terminal cancer? Imagine her having to turn to her five children and asking where they would like to live after she dies. I cannot even imagine what that must have been like.

Patients cannot be left in the dark again. The priority is to listen to the women involved and see what their preferred choice is regarding a commission of investigation.

Some of the testimonies we heard about how a number of women were spoken to by their consultants were shocking. I hope no woman in Ireland will ever again be spoken to in that way. Imagine telling a woman who had just asked about how she would be informed to watch the news. It is disgusting.

See this speech in context