Slow wheels of justice are no help to Emma

THE Taoiseach and Minister for Health are on record declaring that no woman would have to go to court as a result of the cervical screening controversy. Despite these assurances from Leo Varadkar and Simon Harris, the High Court heard yesterday that the HSE has not yet admitted full liability in a case taken by terminally ill woman Emma Mhic Mhathúna, nor can it.

Her lawyer, Patrick Treacy, has explained that time is of the essence. But there is a problem, as outlined yesterday by the HSE in court, in that it was not in a position to admit liability for a misdiagnosis. The wheels of justice must grind at their own pace and without prejudice.

But if the Taoiseach and Health Minister have given a commitment to dying women that they cannot honour, then they must be called to account.

Given the unique circumstances of these women, recourse to an adversarial legal system is hardly ideal – no matter how sympathetic a hearing they are given.

Mr Varadkar pledged that a statutory inquiry and a redress scheme for women would be set up. But these women do not have the luxury of waiting. It would be outrageous to expect them to.

Indeed, Ms Mhic Mhathúna has said that she has been struggling financially and with the logistics of travelling to appointments in Dublin from her home in Ballydavid on the Dingle peninsula. She needs resolution without delay.

She is just one of the 209 women with cervical cancer who were found to have received incorrect smear tests during a clinical audit of past tests by the CervicalCheck screening programme after their cancer diagnoses.

It must not be forgotten that 18 women who were diagnosed with cancer whose cases were reviewed as part of the audit have already died. Our State has proved its capacity to absorb injustice with impunity. The Government has promised to help these women – but it is deeds, not words, that matter and time is running out.