Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together.

In the last ten years or so, apologies have been issued in the Dáil by various Taoisigh on behalf of the State. In February 2013, the then Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, issued an apology on behalf of the Government in Dáil Éireann to women who were resident in the Magdalen laundries for the hurt done to them and for any stigma and trauma experienced by reason of their residence in those institutions. The Government followed up on this through the establishment of the Magdalen restorative justice ex gratiascheme, as recommended by Mr. Justice John Quirke, and by ensuring the recommendations of the Ombudsman’s report of November 2017 on the operation of the scheme are fully implemented.

On 22 October 2019, as Taoiseach, I issued an apology in the Dáil on behalf of the State to the women and their loved ones affected by issues relating to the CervicalCheck screening programme. While screening cannot prevent all cases of cervical cancer, the failures experienced by the women concerned were acknowledged. The apology came on foot of Dr. Gabriel Scally’s scoping inquiry into CervicalCheck. Since then, the Government has been committed to learning lessons and making positive progress in this regard. All 170 actions of the implementation plan arising from the Scally report are now completed. This work included developing an updated reporting structure for the national screening services within the HSE. Efforts arising from Dr Scally”s inquiry have enabled improved governance, strengthened reporting lines and, most importantly, helped to create a more patient-centred environment within the CervicalCheck programme. In his final progress report published last November, Dr Scally acknowledged the progress that has been achieved. The Government is very much aware that the issues in CervicalCheck in 2018 led to a severe loss of trust in our screening system, but we are working to rebuild this by working with patients and patient advocates to improve and develop services across all screening programmes, including CervicalCheck.

On 13 January 2022, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, issued a formal apology for the hurt experienced by many former residents of mother and baby institutions and county homes. He apologised for the profound generational wrong visited upon Irish mothers and their children who spent time in mother and baby homes, institutions, or county homes and for the shame and stigma to which they were subjected. As part of that apology it was acknowledged that the State had failed in its duty of care to the mothers and children who spent there. Since January 2021, work has been advanced by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, on restorative action for survivors and former residents of these institutions through the action plan for survivors and former residents of mother and baby homes and county home institutions, which commits to 22 actions in total.

In addition to this, in June 2018, on the 25th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexual acts, I moved an historic all-party motion in the Dáil. As part of this, a sincere apology was offered to those affected by the criminalisation of homosexual acts in Ireland and the hurt and the harm caused by this legislation was acknowledged by the House. The Government continues to advocate for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, LGBT, community in Ireland and abroad, and to advance the rights of those most at risk of being marginalised, including through a review of the functioning and effectiveness of the Equality Acts, which is currently under way.

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