People Before Profit TD and Dáil Health Committee member Gino Kenny has urged the Health minister to listen to the concerns of the 221 group before proceeding with the Cervical Check Tribunal. The TD states that the whole rationale of the tribunal was meant to provide a non-adversarial venue for the women and victims of the scandal.
He said: “If they are saying there are problems, then there are problems, and these must be sorted out first.”
People Before Profit had raised concerns when the Bill was originally passed with the involvement of the labs at the heart of scandal and at the refusal of the previous Minister to amend the Bill to allow for victims who experienced a relapse in their condition to enter a separate claim.
The TD was also critical of the Government’s continued refusal to accept that the State and labs failed the women affected.
He said: “The Ruth Morrisey case and the fact that the state insisted on dragging her to court to try to avoid their responsibility does suggest that we have not learnt any lessons from the scandal.”
The TD also said that he intends to raise at the Health committee the wider problem caused by the contracting out of key health services like cancer screening to private, for profit labs, saying: “I am disturbed by the continued emphasis of this Minister who like his predecessor seems determined to stand over the practices and standards of the private labs at the heart of this scandal, this must be properly examined and investigated so we do learn real lessons in the future.”