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Tribunals of Inquiry

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 January 2021

Thursday, 21 January 2021

Ceisteanna (459)

John Lahart

Ceist:

459. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Health the status of the CervicalCheck tribunal; if there has been further engagement with a group (details supplied); the actions taken to address the concerns of the group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3433/21]

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Freagraí scríofa

The CervicalCheck Tribunal was established on 27 October 2020 under the CervicalCheck Tribunal Act 2019. Following a pause in the steps towards full establishment to allow for discussions with the 221+ Patient Representative Group in respect of the Tribunal and CervicalCheck Cases generally, I appointed the nominated members to the tribunal with effect from 1 December 2020 enabling the tribunal to start its work.

My Department worked with the 221+ group to progress issues they had raised in respect of the CervicalCheck Tribunal and CervicalCheck cases, with significant progress made through meetings and correspondence on a number of issues. It was not possible to resolve all of the issues raised by the group in the way that they wanted them to be addressed, however, these issues were broader than the tribunal, applying to CervicalCheck cases more generally.

I will continue to work with my Department to address the concerns the group have raised where possible and while there is no ongoing engagement with the group in respect of the tribunal, I am available to meet with them, and engagement continues with my Department through other mechanisms such as the CervicalCheck Steering Committee.

Two particular issues of concern raised by the group regarding the CervicalCheck Tribunal and CervicalCheck cases relate to the statute of limitations and access to the Tribunal in the event of a recurrence of cancer.

The group raised a concern that some women eligible for the Tribunal may now be outside the Statute of Limitations as a result of the delay in establishing the Tribunal, which was due to the global pandemic and issues with regard to Tribunal membership. It was not possible to address this concern by extending the statute of limitations retrospectively; as advised by the Attorney General however, I have received Cabinet approval to develop a proposal to address any such claims, should they arise. I have written to the Group informing them of the government's commitment and that I am willing to discuss this with them.

In respect of how the Tribunal will deal with the issue of recurrence, this issue has been examined in great detail by the government as well as the previous government and I have engaged in extensive consideration on this most sensitive issue. The Tribunal will make awards relating to recurrence in the same way as the High Court. That is, an additional amount can be made as part of the Tribunal settlement, to factor in a future chance of recurrence. An advantage of the Tribunal over the courts is that, if a claimant does not wish to accept the amount awarded by the Tribunal, they can appeal to the High Court, an extra step that would not be available if the claimant had gone directly to the High Court. However, just like the Court system, a claimant cannot return with a second claim in respect of the same event years later.

I am satisfied that the CervicalCheck Tribunal remains the most appropriate venue for CervicalCheck claims. It is, of course, entirely up to the women affected as to whether or not they want to use it.

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