Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I continue to raise the smear test scandal which is not going away. The number of women affected has risen to 221 as of today. I am dismayed but perhaps it is not unexpected. An extra 12 cases have been identified yet the review of the smear test slides has not yet begun two months after the deadline for completion. Some 3,000 tests need to be audited again. It puts the completion of the Scally report in August into doubt, although it should not. Dr. Scally's review is preliminary. We must plough away on that as more delay and procrastination will not help the women who may be affected. Not having the results of the audit is a challenge but I urge Dr. Scally to continue his work. He is a strong advocate and has taken up the failure to provide information with the HSE when this has arisen.

Dr. David Fennelly, the consultant medical oncologist for Vicky Phelan, has called for a clinical trial of the drug that has done so much for her.The drug Pembrolizumab is not licensed in Europe but has proved extremely effective for Ms Phelan. They can actually pinpoint the patients who will benefit from it. It is not given blindly. A trial in this country would be the quickest and most cost effective way to do it.

I thank those who were in the Chamber and who voted the right way yesterday evening when my Bill, the Civil Liability (Amendment) Bill 2017, was narrowly defeated by one vote, however, we will plough forward.