Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My thanks to the Minister for attending for this important debate. I begin by welcoming Vicky Phelan home after six long months in the United States where she received treatment arising from her misdiagnosis under the CervicalCheck programme. No individual should be required to leave her family, as Vicky did so bravely and amid a pandemic. She had to go through this experience alone and that was genuinely awful. The late Ruth Morrissey was another Limerick woman who was affected by CervicalCheck. I recognise the courage of both women and how they prevailed through the most difficult of challenges. It should never have happened. I also recognise the work carried out by the 221+ group and other organisations, as many Senators have done today. We need to ensure something of this nature never happens again.

I welcome the amendments. While I recognise that they are mainly technical, they are important. We all recognise the importance of the Bill. The extension of time is welcome, especially in light of the delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent cyberattack. Can the time be further extended or should there be an overarching time limit? The experiences of all women should not be disregarded. They should be allowed access to the tribunal at a time suitable to them. For many of the women in question, their health is very important and they are, unfortunately, going through a great deal. Having spoken to some of them, it seems they are fighting for their lives in terms of their treatment and what they are going through with their families. It is not always an appropriate time to apply for compensation. Perhaps that is why there has been such low uptake to date. Would it be feasible to investigate why the tribunals have seen such a low uptake? Can we work with these women? There are more than 200 of them. Can we try to encourage more of them to apply and work with them on this?