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

The apology, when it was made, was for the non-disclosure element of this scandal. The family of Ruth Morrissey have made it very clear that they are not interested in apologies. That ship has very sadly sailed for Ruth Morrissey. What we need is action. The tribunal to which the Taoiseach referred is an adversarial mechanism. If I can quote Ms Justice Mary Irvine on the matter. She stated that the claims before the tribunal are to be heard in the same manner as the High Court hears and determines personal injuries actions for negligence and the High Court determines such claims in what is described as an adversarial process. That is the fact. In addition, the tribunal mechanism has no means of fast-tracking cases, bearing in mind that we are dealing with very sick women. The truth is that this State has not made available to these women a mechanism that is non-adversarial or a mediated mechanism for the State to acknowledge and to carry its full liability for the damage to these women's health and, in many cases, for the loss of their lives and the loss of them as women and mothers to their families.

At the heart of this scandal is another scandal, and it is that of the outsourcing of screening services. I wish to recall that when that decision was made the House was warned of the many dangers of proceeding in that direction and, tragically, those warnings have come home to roost. It is essential that the national laboratory to which the Taoiseach has committed is established and resourced as a matter of urgency.

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