Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The apology by and commitment from the then-Taoiseach and now Tánaiste on this matter were made in good faith. As the Deputy knows, the previous Government agreed that the High Court judge, Mr. Justice Charles Meenan, would be requested to review, in the cases of women affected by CervicalCheck issues, mechanisms that would avoid, where possible, women and their families having to go to court. That is the objective of the Government. Emerging from that report, a tribunal was to be established, and it will be established. The legislation paving the way for the establishment was passed into law last year in this House.

There have been delays in the establishment of the tribunal. It was to be established in March and it is the most effective mechanism to enable the women involved to resolve these matters without having to go before the courts. That said, one cannot prevent people from going to court to establish and secure their rights. Every step has to be taken to remove obstacles in the pursuit of the entitlements of women in these positions.

In general, the screening programme has saved many women's lives. Many lives have been saved by the national cervical cancer screening programme. This must be said in fairness to all those who work on the programme, and it has also been acknowledged by many women throughout the country. It is my sense that if we were to remove immediately the outsourcing of screening, we would not have a national cervical cancer screening programme, and we would not have had one from the very beginning. Perhaps it is a debate for another day but we must put this in perspective while acknowledging the failings that occurred. Quality control is essential to achieving the highest standards of oversight of screening programmes and ensuring this highest standard.

That is why the move to HPV cervical screening for the medium term and into the future has already occurred. That is the key to improving the programme from a quality and safety perspective and reducing error and optimising the standard and quality of that screening. Ireland joins a small group of nations that employs what will be the best in class testing to screen their populations for cervical cancer into the future. Others are Australia, England, the Netherlands and Wales. Along with the continued roll-out of HPV vaccinations, that is the key road forward. It is the roadmap for the future in terms of reducing death and grief and also making sure that the quality of the overall programme is much better and more precise for women in this country.

See this speech in context