Women affected by CervicalCheck scandal to get ex-gratia payouts

THE Government is set to sign off on a scheme to provide ex-gratia payments to the women affected by the CervicalCheck scandal.

Health Minister Simon Harris told the Dáil he hoped to establish the scheme in the coming weeks.

The scheme will provide payments to women who were affected by the non-disclosure of an audit of their smear tests.

No figure on the level of the payments was given.

The embattled minister was in the Dáil defending his handling of the crisis and rejected suggestions he offered, against medical advice, free repeat smears to any woman who wanted one.

Labour Party TD Alan Kelly claimed that a separate review of the slides of women affected, which is being carried out by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), would not be completed this year.

“The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists review will not be completed this year. I will make a bet with the minister on that,” said Mr Kelly.

However, Mr Harris rejected this and said: “I am not in the business of having bets on the floor of the Dáil, but I do not accept the assertion the review cannot be completed this year.

“It is a review that will take six months from the time RCOG starts to receive the slides. It is independent and I do not want to speak for it. The slides have started to transfer so I’m hopeful it can progress.”

In relation to the backlog in cervical smear tests that has emerged, Mr Harris said the build-up in the system had arisen not only because women were taking up the offer of a free repeat test, but also because of increased demand generally.

He said the HSE was drawing up a plan to improve capacity.

A separate issue over the timing of HPV tests for 4,600 women who now needed to be retested came with a low clinical risk, Mr Harris insisted.

Opposition health spokespeople took Mr Harris to task over the fact that women, including Ruth Morrissey, were facing court battles some time after the Government promised they would not have to. Legislation to establish a tribunal, which will act as an alternative route for victims of the scandal, has not yet been published, despite the Government deciding last December to introduce it.

The Government has sought external advice due to the complexity of the legislation.