Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, to the House and commend him on the work he has done. Vicky Phelan is a neighbour of mine and I know her very well. She is an incredible woman, and it is true to say that if she had not refused a gagging clause this story would probably never have come out. I believe the women of Ireland owe her an enormous debt of gratitude. One meets people in life occasionally that leave an imprint. For me, Vicky Phelan is one of those people. She is formidable and warm. She is unwell, but she has presented herself to the public. She is compelling viewing because what she is saying is the truth. I have been involved in many inquiries and would be worried that we might get bogged down in process. This problem was caused by people not communicating with each other. The women of Ireland want the truth. Vicky Phelan is entitled to the truth. We need to know why this information, which was available, was not communicated to the women of Ireland affected by this disease. Vicky Phelan would be in a different position today if that was done. It is disgraceful and shameful. No matter what way I think about it, all I can see is a young lady, at 43 years of age, being forced to go out onto the public airwaves and fight her case. What the State Claims Agency did to her is a disgrace in terms of human decency.

I heard Mr. Tony O'Brien, the CEO of the HSE, come out and say that this is a personal blow to him. It pales into insignificance compared to the personal blow dealt to the women affected by this scandal. He may have suffered a personal blow, but he should take some personal responsibility. He should look into his heart on this particular issue.He speaks about lack of personal responsibility. I spoke about it earlier. A manager of a football team that is not preforming cannot claim not to have personal responsibility. He needs to do the decent thing. Vicky Phelan has called for it. People, who know me, know that I am pretty much down the middle. I feel very passionately and strongly about this one. This is one of the greatest scandals in the history of our State. It affects our mothers, wives and partners, sisters and daughters.

It is clear that the HSE is not fit for purpose. Its officials have been appearing before the Committee of Public Accounts for years. It is unwieldy, too big and not flexible. It does not meet the requirements for a modern population's health needs. It needs to be reformed as a matter of urgency. What form that takes needs to be looked at. It is not carrying out its job. This issue happened under the watch of the HSE. The Minister went into the Dáil having just been handed a piece of paper detailing something of which he was unaware. While the Minister was in the Chamber the HSE issued a press statement at the same time. We cannot have that type of behaviour; this is too serious.

Women have contacted me. I welcome that the Minister is allowing for the fact that women can go for a smear test. Women have contacted me with concerns over previous smear tests. I am meeting members of the medical profession and they are saying, "Was my previous smear test false?" Does that need to be looked at as part of this review? I understand that women in that cohort are getting phone calls, going to their GPs and their GPs are unaware of the reason for the phone call. The GPs need to be included in this measure.

I salute Vicky Phelan. The Minister will know of my relationship and contact with her. What she has done will go down in the history of Ireland as something heroic and for the betterment of women. Clearly it must have been difficult for her to have come out, but she feels passionately about it. I wish her well in her treatment. She is in the process of undergoing new treatment. I wish her well in that; I want her to get well.

I return to the key points. The truth is the key feature here. I do not want to see politicians fighting over process. They are not being affected; women such as Vicky Phelan are being affected. They are entitled to know quickly why this happened and why they were not made aware of it. We need to make certain about the process. Women are entitled to smear tests. Is there a need to look at the results of previous smear tests? I apologise to Mr. O'Brien, but he needs to look into his heart on this one. What happened under his watch is of such a monumental nature that it has affected people's lives. People have died because the results of smear tests were not picked up properly. This is what it is about.

I salute Vicky Phelan and wish her well in her current treatment. She deserves no less. The women of Ireland owe her an enormous debt of gratitude as we all do.