Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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776. To ask the Minister for Health his views on establishing a mediation process for those affected by the CervicalCheck scandal as an alternative to either the courts systems or the tribunal given the sensitivities of the cases and the health of those concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8348/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The State Claims Agency (SCA) has a statutory remit to manage personal injury claims on behalf of Delegated State Authorities including the Health Service Executive. The management of such cases is delegated to the SCA and, as such, the Government has no role in determining how these cases are conducted.

However, the SCA has affirmed its commitment to dealing with claims through mediation whenever possible.

I have also made a commitment to the 221+ patient representative group to providing access to mediation in a parallel process, and that I will work with the group to make mediation available at the earliest possible point in a claim.

The establishment of the CervicalCheck Tribunal, which can provide early hearing dates for claims, will be a useful tool to speed up the transfer of evidence from the labs that makes settlement by mediation possible.