Leo: Cancer scandal was low point of the year
Taoiseach also tells of Repeal joy as he reflects on 12 months
THE lowest point of a mixed year for Leo Varadkar was the uncovering of the Cervicalcheck cancer scandal.
However, victory for the Repeal The Eighth campaign provided him with the highlight.
The Taoiseach was reflecting on the past 12 months with political reporters at a traditional end-ofyear briefing.
During 2018 he spearheaded the Government’s successful bid to repeal the Eighth Amendment.
It will be legal from the beginning of January for women to access abortion services without limit up to 12 weeks into preg- nancy. Mr Varadkar said: “I’ll say on the plus side I felt very privileged to be there in Dublin Castle when the votes were counted on the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment. “It was one of those days when you’re reminded why you’re in politics. It’s about being a part of making things happen.”
The Taoiseach experienced vastly different emotions when the Cervicalcheck scandal emerged with more than 220 women having their cancer diagnoses missed in screenings. Some of them have since died. Mr Varadkar marked this as his lowest point of the year. He added: “In terms of the low Leo Varadkar points, I don’t know of any one particular day but definitely trying to understand and manage and respond to the Cervicalcheck scandal was extremely difficult.
“It was much more difficult for the women and families affected than for any politician but just trying to get basic facts.
“Then when we got the facts, trying to explain them and get them across and trying to respond to issues.
“Making the right decisions in a very frenzied period with a lot of misinformation and the extreme difficulty that was then compounded by the emotion of very sick women and very distraught families.
“I don’t know if that’s a regret. I regret we didn’t know it was coming, or know more about it in advance, and might have been able to handle it a bit better and might have made some better decisions.” Campaigners such as Vicky Phelan, who is battling a terminal cancer diagnosis, have bravely fought to keep the issue at the top of the political agenda.
But many women have claimed they are not being listened to and told the Irish Mirror they were very upset to have a meeting with Health Minister Simon Harris cancelled at short notice just before Christmas. A spokesman for Mr Harris blamed his packed schedule with the briefing rearranged for later in January.