Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Ó Caoláin. I thank those women and their families who came forward. I remind the House that the State wanted Vicky Phelan to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Because that non-disclosure agreement was resisted, information came into the public domain. Now everybody says we all are in favour of such information always being in the public domain but let us be under no illusions. The outcome of that court case could have been very different. It could have been a secret and we might never have had the opportunity to have the conversations we have had. It is a testament to that woman and her family that we have that information in the public domain. That women still continue to go to court is testament to the fact that not everything that was promised was delivered on.

I spoke to the Minister yesterday on this matter and he elaborated on the situation in some detail. I am conscious that there may be a certain amount of crossover with this evening's debate but I do not think that will do any harm.

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