The woman who exposed the Cervical Check scandal has called for an ‘urgent,’ ‘prompt’ and ‘public’ Commission of Investigation.
In a tweet this morning Vicky Phelan, who is now terminally ill after being told she did not have cancer in 2011, said “too much has already happened behind closed doors.”
@SimonHarrisTD @campaignforleo @morningireland As the woman who exposed this scandal, I want to see a Commission of Investigation that is both urgent and prompt but also PUBLIC. Too much has already happened behind closed doors. #CervicalCheckScandal https://t.co/uoRaRxm6mV
— Vicky Phelan (@PhelanVicky) May 3, 2018
The Government is likely to establish a preliminary scoping exercise ahead of a full State investigation.
The Health Minister Simon Harris met with opposition other parties last night to discuss how best to examine what happened.
There was general consensus that a HIQA inquiry wouldn't be good enough – but there are also fears a Commission of Investigation could take years to complete.
File photo of Sinn Féin health spokesperson Louise O'Reilly on the Plinth at Leinster House, 30-04-2018. Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews
Sinn Féin's Louise O'Reilly said an initial examination could take place before deciding how best to take a statutory approach.
“I made the suggestion last night that we would have a non-statutory inquiry in the first instance and then that we would look at the legislation that covers Commissions of Inquiry and maybe try to make the changes to that so that we could have a Commission of Inquiry that doesn’t take years and that actually gets to the heart of the issue and actually gets some answers,” she said.
Meanwhile it emerged during yesterday's hearing that ten more women are taking legal action over their smear test results.
Today it's reported a woman settled a case similar to Vicky Phelan's four years ago but was forced to sign a confidentiality agreement.
The Irish Independent says a different lab defended the case which was initially taken against the HSE.
The woman discovered she had cervical cancer while pregnant, a year after her smear test.
