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

Vicky Phelan died three weeks ago. The Taoiseach knows she spent her final years fighting for change. She was very clear on what she wanted to see. To recall, she said to the political system:

I don't want your accolades or your broken promises. I want action. I want change. I want accountability.

It was a most eloquent and heartbreaking call to action for all of the women and their families affected by the CervicalCheck scandal.

As the Taoiseach knows, mandatory disclosure and a duty of candour was one of Vicky's core demands. Mandatory disclosure means a legal obligation on clinicians and health care providers to tell a woman if there had been a discordant, erroneous or incorrect reading of her cervical cancer screening slide. There was consensus in the Oireachtas that the original patient safety Bill did not provide for this demand. The week that Vicky died the Taoiseach assured the Dáil that an amendment to the legislation to correct for this flaw would be brought forward.

At that time I said to the Taoiseach that the Opposition would work with the Government to get the legislation right and get it over the line before the Christmas recess. This remains my position and our commitment. However, we have a problem in that the amendment proposed by the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, does not provide for mandatory disclosure. There is provision for a right to review and this is welcome. However, there is a distinction between a right to review and a positive obligation on a clinician or a health service provider to reveal and pass on information. Mandatory disclosure where the legal responsibility is on clinicians and organisations is what the women fought for. It is the measure recommended by Dr. Gabriel Scally in his scoping inquiry.

Let me cut to the chase in all of this. I believe there are still serious flaws in the legislation. I do not believe the amendments the Minister has proposed address these flaws. Above all else there is no way that two hours today is sufficient time for us to tease our way through this legislation to get it right. The objective here has to be to get this right. I do not believe either that the House should divide on this matter. We were of one voice when we marked the death of Vicky. We said that we would work together. I am asking the Taoiseach as head of the Government for us to work together. What this means in my strong opinion is that we have the debate for two hours today after which we adjourn it and that more time is made available next week.

There is concern beyond the definition of mandatory disclosure or the duty of candour about the review process itself. There is no legal obligation for the woman at the point of diagnosis to be told she has a right to the review. What is very worrying from my point of view is a provision that means in the case of CervicalCheck and the laboratories that the laboratories themselves would decide the scope and shape of the reviews. I do not believe that we can pass legislation that lets these things go. Again I ask the Taoiseach to work with us. I know I have the support of the Labour Party and others on the Opposition benches. We really have to get this right. I believe we can get it right and over the line before we rise for Christmas.

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