Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are very few gentlemen around here, whatever the party.

I acknowledge International Day of the Girl. I also acknowledge the findings of the report from Plan International Ireland. Dr. Scally and Dr. Denton were before the Joint Committee on Health yesterday to discuss their findings that some of the people whose results were not referred within 18 months were not sent back a second time. This is frightening and I understand Dr. Scally has committed to examine some of the scans and how they were investigated by different groups. It appears some were investigated by one clinic and then sent to another, with both clinics coming up with different results. A lot of what came out of the meeting yesterday is frightening for women in this country. There is a fear that there are more than the 221 women of whom we know. I welcome the fact that the Minister, Deputy Harris, has asked Dr. Scally to play a further role in the investigation and to come up with terms of reference for how doctors should be trained to handle scans in the future. When people receive a bad diagnosis, they should be told about it and it is important that Dr. Scally comes back with suggestions for how to deal with these things in the future.