David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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864. To ask the Minister for Health the number of claims which were made to the CervicalCheck Tribunal, by year; the number of claims resolved positively by the tribunal; the number of claims rejected by the tribunal; the timeframe of the tribunal's work; the cost of the tribunal to date, by cost type, including awards made, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32424/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The CervicalCheck Tribunal was established on 27 October 2020 under the CervicalCheck Tribunal Act 2019.

The number of claims made to the CervicalCheck Tribunal.

Twenty-six [26] claims (of which two were combined) were lodged with the Tribunal.

Twenty [20] claims were lodged by women and six [6] claims were lodged by or on behalf of the statutory dependants of women.

The number of claims resolved by the Tribunal.

All twenty-six [26] claims made to the Tribunal were processed.

Eighteen [18] claims were resolved on the basis of a settlement reached between the parties.

Seven [7] cases were resolved on the basis of a Notification issued pursuant to s.12 of the CervicalCheck Tribunal Act, 2019. This means that the claimants were notified by the Tribunal that it was not in a position to hear and determine the claim for want of either respondent or third-party consent in circumstances where such consent was either not forthcoming or had been withdrawn.

One [1] case was struck out when an ‘Unless Order’ came into effect.

Timeframe of the Tribunal’s work.

The CervicalCheck Tribunal was established on 27 October 2020. Establishment of the Tribunal was finalised with the appointment of the nominated members to the Tribunal with effect from 1 December 2020, implementing in full the recommendations of Mr Justice Charles Meenan on an alternative to the Court process for eligible CervicalCheck Claims.

In a letter dated 31 July 2023, the Tribunal Chairperson informed the Minister for Health that all claims had been processed, and that as such the Tribunal’s core statutory functions had been completed.

Having completed its required administrative work and discharging any remaining obligations conferred upon the Chairperson, Judge Power submitted her resignation as Chairperson of the Tribunal on 18 April 2024.

Cost of the Tribunal.

Lease costs associated with the Tribunal’s occupation of the premises from 2021 to 17 April 2024 were €999,534.58 (excl. VAT). Service charges for this same period of occupancy was €340,916.10 (excl. VAT).

Operating costs for the Tribunal, including set-up costs, were €477,354.28 (incl. VAT) up to October 2024, when all final invoices had been received.

Under the CervicalCheck Tribunal Act 2019 the Minister for Health was required to determine the remuneration of Tribunal Members other than those who were serving judges of the Superior Courts. The Tribunal was chaired by Ms. Justice Ann Power, a serving judge of the Court of Appeal, from 27 October 2020 to 18 April 2024. Mr. Justice Tony O’Connor, a serving judge of the High Court and Mr. Justice Brian McGovern, a retired judge of the Court of Appeal were the Ordinary members of the Tribunal. Mr. Justice Brian McGovern was paid at the rate of remuneration applicable to a Judge of that Court.

The Annual Reports for 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 are published on the Department’s website (www.gov.ie/en/publication/c5125-minister-donnelly-publishes-2020-annual-report-of-the-cervicalcheck-tribunal/) and include particulars of its accounts.

Awards.

The Tribunal did not make any awards. Some of the 25 cases were settled between the parties, some were withdrawn and went to the High Court, and some were abandoned completely. None went to a full hearing and, therefore, no awards were made by the Tribunal.