Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Over the past 12 months, we have spent a lot of time discussing CervicalCheck, smear tests, the two Scally reports, court cases and those women who tragically lost their lives due to misdiagnosis. I do not think the memory of Emma Mhic Mhathúna's coffin passing outside the gates of Leinster House with her five children behind it will ever leave me. There are days that stand out since I became a Member of the Thirty-second Dáil and that is one day I will never forget.

Emma was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016 having previously received two incorrect smear results. Her five children are now left without their mother. I believe, therefore, that it is important to support this long overdue legislation. I cannot answer as to why it has been left until the last few weeks before the summer recess. It is important that we progress now, however. This Bill provides for the establishment of an independent statutory tribunal to deal with claims arising from specified reviews relating to the CervicalCheck screening program.

In doing so, it implements the recommendations made by Mr. Justice Charles Meenan in his report on an alternative system for dealing with claims arising from CervicalCheck. Mr. Justice Meenan was asked by the Government to make recommendations on how claims arising from CervicalCheck could be resolved outside the courts process. This is very important. We have all seen the images of Vicky Phelan and Ruth Morrissey going in and out of court when they were clearly unwell, undergoing treatment and trying to keep life as normal as possible for their children and families. That is not easy. It must be absolutely soul destroying to have to fight tooth and nail for compensation for something that is affecting their lives, is completely outside of their control and was not their fault.

The tribunal will only hear and determine claims in respect of CervicalCheck with the consent of all parties to the claim. The tribunal will be chaired by Ms Justice Mary Irvine and will be optional. Women or their next of kin can still choose to go to court if that is their preferred option. Hearings will be conducted in private, and that is important, but the claimant will be able to seek the agreement of the tribunal to request that a hearing, or part of a hearing, be held in public. Evidence of the injuries suffered by women arising from treatment for cervical cancer is of an intimate and narrowing nature. This similarly applies to the evidence of partners and families in cases where women have died as a result of cervical cancer. No woman or family member should feel deprived of the right to take legal action because of fear of publicity, fear of the media or fear of the courts process.

During the recent local election campaign, I was surprised by the number of women who raised with me the length of time they have been waiting for their smear results. Perhaps that was because I was a woman knocking on the door and they felt that they could speak to a woman. Most women engage in the process of having regular smears and they are happy to do so knowing that they are looking after their health. There is no doubt, however, that there is genuine fear regarding why some women are still waiting up to 30 weeks for the test results. Some of those women are beginning to question whether this means that something is wrong or perhaps that the test has been misplaced. We need to get on top of these waiting times to encourage people to have faith in this system. We have to have faith in the system.

The supplementary recommendations outlined by Dr. Gabriel Scally regarding CervicalCheck must be implemented without delay. We are relieved that the laboratories subcontracted to check Irish smear tests were operating to acceptable standards. However, at the beginning of the inquiry Dr. Scally was informed that the number of labs involved was six, then 11 and finally 16. It is astonishing for such basic information to be so inaccessible. Everything that can be done must be done to ensure that women have confidence in the CervicalCheck program. One reasonable and implementable solution is for every woman to know exactly where her smear test is being screened. As well as that, every single smear test should be screened in a lab which complies with a quality assurance process developed and operated by CervicalCheck. This second recommendation from Dr. Scally would ensure that the quality assurance system would be in place irrespective of the physical location of laboratories.

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