Don’t block cervical cancer investigation

Leo warns at HSE ‘obstruction’ into Scally inquiry

Dr Scally was sent ‘unsearchable’ files

LEO Varadkar has said anyone who frustrates the work of the inquiry into the CervicalCheck controversy was also obstructing the Government.

The Taoiseach made the comments after Simon Harris branded it ‘absolutely pathetic’ that public servants supplied an investigator with 4,000 documents in an electronic form that cannot be word-searched.

That’s despite the documents being originally created electronically in a full-searchable format, the Dáil was told yesterday.

Photocopies and electronic images have given to Dr Gabriel Scally, who is carrying out a scoping inquiry into the cervical cancer scandal and who has asked for an extension after receiving a blizzard of paper and computer images of pages. Dr ‘Absolutely pathetic’: Harris Scally had protested at the manner of the documents’ release to him in an interim submission to the Government.

The Health Minister declaring the apparently deliberate practice was ‘not acceptable’.

Yesterday Mr Harris wrote in protest to the HSE, saying the manner of the supposed coshe operation with Dr Scally was ‘just not good enough’ and that all documents must now be resubmitted to Dr Scally ‘in a way that makes sense for him to get on with his work’.

The Taoiseach said the terms of reference for the Scally scoping had been approved by the Oireachtas and anyone who obstructs would be directly confronted by the Government. ‘I make it very clear that we expect cooperation and will accept nothing less than that.’

Sinn Féin health spokeswoman Louise O’Reilly complained that a strongly worded letter from Mr Harris is all he said he would do in response to the supply of documents in the incorrect format. ‘I am not happy that the Minister will simply describe the actions of his officials as pathetic and follow up and say that he is going to write a letter about it,’ told Today With Seán O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio One.

In the Dáil, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin suggested that rolling the scoping inquiry into the Commission of Investigation, to begin now, ‘might be the most effective way to ensure there is no more messing’.

He said it was clear from the interim report that the Minister for Health ‘didn’t know what was going on, because he wasn’t told... That fact alone should ring alarm bells’, he said.

But the Taoiseach said abandoning the scoping for a full inquiry would mean ‘everyone would get their lawyer’ and could delay the emergence of answers.

Meanwhile, Cian O’Carroll, the solicitor representing the two women at the heart of the controversy, Vicky Phelan and Emma Mhic Mhathúna said he suspected there was ‘a lack of interest, a lack of enthusiasm and a policy of obstruction’ on the part of the Department of Health towards the inquiry.

Comment – Page 12 senan.molony@dailymail.ie