Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This Bill, which proposes to amend the CervicalCheck Tribunal Act 2019 to allow for more time to make a claim, will ring hollow with many of the women most affected by the failings of that programme because it does nothing to address the reasons the extension is needed. The Minister mentioned Covid and the cyberattack on the HSE but it is 19 days away from the deadline and here we are. The fact remains that driving licences were extended for longer as a result of Covid than the plans for an extension in this Bill. If a fraction more care and attention had gone into the administration and logistical oversight earlier, we might not be here today, these women might not be sick today and these women might not be dying today. I ask the Minister not to add to that failure. It is not only the decent and humane thing to do but it is the responsible course of action to accept that if a person is entitled to institute proceedings, the limitation period should not be applied to them - they should not be excluded from doing so because time is not on their side. There is no closing date for sickness and there is no closing date for the worry that the women, their families and children are experiencing. Why should there be such a tight closing date on their right to justice and recompense?

There is a growing perception that the Minister is wedded to getting this tribunal done and dusted so that it can be brushed under the same carpet as many other failings in women's healthcare, such as the mesh implants or the hepatitis C scandal. I ask the Minister not to add to that. This Bill does nothing to address the concerns of the women most affected. With only five claims to date, instead of apologising, compensating and rectifying, there is now a pattern of aggressive confrontation, of clouding central issues and of victim blaming. Let us not add insult to injury. Let us stop injury being compounded on injury. The Minister has an opportunity to show further commitment to these women by accepting that the limitation barrier should not be applied.

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