Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, the Taoiseach apologised to women and families affected by the operation of the cervical screening programme. Certainly, I welcome that apology and it was welcomed by those who were most affected. However, those words must be followed by action. We saw yesterday also that another seriously ill woman is being dragged through the courts. While the State must fight different claims, the Taoiseach promised that these women would not be dragged through the courts. I ask the Government to stop immediately and for the Taoiseach to fulfil the promises he made.

Dr. Scally said there was a complete failure from top to bottom in the cervical screening programme and that some women and their relatives were treated appallingly. The Leader knows as we do that the State has failed these women and that the outsourcing of smear tests has played a role in the scandal. There must be collective Cabinet responsibility for the decision made to outsource cervical screening in the first place. The name of the person in charge was mentioned earlier. What bothers me is the question of whether it could happen now. Could there be a collective Cabinet decision again where there is medical advice? One clinician resigned at the time because he felt so strongly and he predicted exactly what would happen. The decision made around that table was a fatal one for these women and their families.

We need to see additional funding to ensure the recommendations of the MacCraith and Scally reports are implemented. I was disappointed that the budget did not include a ring-fenced sum prior to the apology for cervical screening. We need to have screening repatriated. We need to have control. We need to reverse the bad decision that was made. We cannot let any other women down as we let Emma Mhic Mhathúna and Vicky Phelan down. We must assure women that our screening process is safe, reliable and fit for purpose. We must fix it and fix it fast.

We sometimes make the greatest mistake of thinking a public or State apology means everything is okay and the doors are closed. However, we have far to go to generate confidence in the cervical screening process. We must do that with actions rather than words. I thank the brave women and their families, including Emma Mhic Mhathúna and Vicky Phelan, Stephen Teap and his wife, Irene, who had the courage and determination to speak out and for others. We must not let them down. We must ensure the journey they started when they spoke out and their actions make a difference and that we make them count.