Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We have a long, dark history in this State when it comes to the treatment of women, especially when it comes to our healthcare. However, the devastating reality is that this is not just something that happened in the past; this reality still hurts women today. While we regularly hear Government politicians lament the treatment of women in the past, those words ring hollow when we consider the CervicalCheck scandal.

The fact that women with cervical cancer were told that smear results, which showed them to be clear, were in fact inaccurate, is nightmarish. Not only this, the revised test results were also kept from them for years. Let us be clear that the reason this came to light, and we are even having this discussion, is the tireless work of campaigners, who are people affected by this issue and people whose families have, sadly, passed away as a result.

This Bill seeks to extend the period of the CervicalCheck tribunal but we need to listen to campaigners and their concerns about this. Of course, nothing will ever give them justice but we need to listen to them now. This must be the end of this State’s systemic mistreatment of women, once and for all. I urge the Minister to listen to the campaigners and to those affected.

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