David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I wish to pay tribute to Vicky Phelan. She is a most extraordinary woman. I was tremendously impressed by the courage and grace she displayed in facing ultimate realities. It is a very difficult problem. I have listened to various eminent consultants talking on radio and television and giving different points of view. One must accept that these types of tests are by no means perfect as there are large numbers of false positives and false negatives. They are just an indicator. We must also bear in mind that as a result of this programme, deficient as it is, there has been a very significant improvement in the health of women in this country. That is something positive to bear in mind.

With regard to disclosure, we are witnessing a cultural change in the medical system. In my day, one was told nothing by the doctor. A person was not assumed to have any rights to knowledge. It was similar to the James Robertson Justice figure we used to see in "Doctor in the House" and, with regard to the idea that patients expected to get cured, the attitude was that they were bloody lucky to get out of the hospital alive. That was the general attitude. We are seeing a shift in this and patients are now demanding information and disclosure. I believe they should be insistent on it. However, watching the different consultants offering different impressions and viewpoints and seeing these eminent people disagreeing make it difficult for the average person to know. For that reason I believe it is premature to be looking for people's heads to roll. When doctors differ, patients die.

The idea of outsourcing concerned me in the beginning, but I have since discovered that the reason for the outsourcing in the first place was that there was no capacity in this country in 2008. One cannot demand domestic processing when there is no infrastructure, capacity or medical personnel to do it. We just did not have it.