Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious we have limited time and that the Minister of State will want to respond, and he needs to respond to some of the remarks made by colleagues.

Only a few short months ago the names of Vicky Phelan, Lorraine Walsh and Irene and Stephen Teap probably did not trip off the tongues of anyone other than the people in their own networks, families and communities. I am sure that is the way they would have preferred it to stay but we know now that they were propelled into the public realm as a result of failings of governance and responsibility in aspects of our health system. We would all acknowledge they have been let down by the State. I pay tribute to their individual and collective strength and the fact that they, under very difficult circumstances, picked up the cudgels and were prepared to advocate and campaign for a better way of doing things in this country.

I acknowledge also the public work and bravery embodied in some of the work done by a very good friend of mine from Drogheda, Rosie Condra. That name may not be familiar to many of those present but Rosie is one of the women affected by this issue. From the start, she embodied what this process was all about and what it should be about. She is a trade union activist and health professional who understands the health system inside out and naturally felt very let down by what happened. For her and all of the women involved and their families, this is not about them but about rebuilding trust, the rights to access information and to full disclosure, and doing our best to make sure the systems we operate are accountable.

I acknowledge also the sterling work that has been done by my colleague, Deputy Alan Kelly, in the context of the CervicalCheck screening programme. He worked at all times on the basis that we wanted to get to the truth. It was never about political point-scoring. He wanted the truth and to work with Ministers and others with responsibility for this matter to create a better situation for those affected and improve systems in this country.

The women affected and their families contributed enormously to the Scally review and have done the State a great service. The review is excellent. Does the Minister of State accept that it will be judged on the success of the implementation of its 50 recommendations? I and my Labour Party colleagues fully support the recommendations. It is important to stress that we also fully support the screening programme, which will continue to save lives.

It is crucial that the HPV test is fully rolled out. It will boost accuracy rates in the screening programme and lead to far fewer false negative results. My good colleague and friend, Senator Kelleher, expertly analysed the difference between screening and diagnosis. It is important that people understand that and do not misrepresent the position. It is also essential that take-up rates for the HPV vaccine increase. I am glad they have increased among young women in recent months. Deputy Alan Kelly has led the way in campaigning for the extension of the vaccination programme to boys. This is a matter of national urgency, as the Minister understands.

Dr. Scally must be kept on board to try to complete the job and I am very pleased the Minister has reported that he is prepared to do so. That will come as a source of great relief to the women and their families. He has established a bond of trust with them, the political system and, I imagine, senior civil servants, with whom he will need to work to ensure the implementation of this report and all its recommendations.

Senators, Deputies and members of the public often speak about institutional failure. It is people, often in teams, who make decisions, not institutions or systems. I say that not to apportion blame - I always try to avoid doing that - but with the intention of getting to the truth and determining how and why the systems we had in place failed these women. We must learn from this experience. I reiterate that this is not about apportioning blame but about trying to figure out what precisely went wrong to ensure we avoid it happening again in the future.

I am also interested in getting to the bottom of the decision by the main laboratory, CPL, to subcontract work to other laboratories, an issue raised by Senator Devine. When a laboratory is involved in these types of work, systems and contracting, it leads almost inevitably to difficulties around governance, management systems and accountability. Again, I say that not to apportion blame but to try to get to the bottom of what can often go wrong in circumstances such as these and which contributes to misgivings and a lack of trust and confidence.

I look forward to seeing the first part of Mr. Justice Meenan's work. Notwithstanding the assurances given by the Taoiseach on the national media, with the best will in the world, I do not believe it will be possible for every woman affected by this crisis to avoid adversarial court hearings, which are often deeply harrowing and invasive. We would all like the women to avoid that scenarios, if at all possible. Whether that is legally or constitutionally possible, I do not know. I am interested in seeing what will emerge from that element of the process. I am not an expert but I have reservations about the promise, if I can put it that way, made by the Taoiseach, possibly under pressure. I am sure he and the Minister will reflect on that.

I request that the women affected, their families and the group established to support them are given all necessary support and resources to enable them to support one another and to advocate and campaign for better services and access to the kinds of services they need or may need in the future. I am sure the Minister of State will agree that is the very least we owe them.