Redress for women affected by ‘failures’ to cost €500m
MINISTERS will today discuss setting up a compensation scheme for women caught up in the cancer scandal that could cost in the region of €500m.
Health Minister Simon Harris has already signed off on a Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) investigation into how 162 women were not told about a review of their cervical cancer test.
But he will need full Cabinet approval and monetary backing from the Department of Finance to set up a redress scheme. The Irish Independent understands there are currently “three to four” legal cases, similar to that undertaken by Vicky Phelan, which are in their early stages.
They are being handled by the State Claims Agency, which was accused by Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin yesterday of taking an “adversarial route” against Ms Phelan.
The mother-of-two was forced to give intimate evidence of her life with cervical cancer in the High Court before settling her case against a US laboratory over a 2011 smear test for €2.5m.
Government sources have indicated they want to avoid a flurry of cases coming before the courts in the wake of the controversy.
However, if taxpayers foot the initial bill for a redress scheme it is unclear how much of this money could be recouped from the laboratories involved in delivering results with false negatives.
Attorney General Séamus Woulfe is expected to be quizzed on this issue at a Cabinet meeting today.
Mr Martin said “whether they like it or not” ministers have used their public comments to indicate “a pathway towards a redress board”.
Mr Harris is expected to come under intense pressure when the Dáil resumes this afternoon with the normal schedule likely to be disregarded to allow for special questioning.
Fianna Fáil has already called for him to publish the details of a memo he received on April 16, alerting him to the fact Ms Phelan’s case would be before the courts days later.
Sources said this memo is unlikely to be published as it contains personal information relating to the 43-year-old.
However, the Irish Independent has learned that officials in the Department of Health briefed Mr Harris that the case taken by Ms Phelan against the HSE was being dropped and the one against the laboratory was “likely” to be settled before court.
The memo added that an audit of CervicalCheck had taken place and the “outcome of all current and historical cases were communicated to treating clinicians”.
But in a section that Opposition parties are likely to hone in on, the note claimed: “More recently women are informed of this audit process and have the option to request information on the outcomes of reviews.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he is “very angry” about the scandal, adding that he was “filled with sadness” when he heard Ms Phelan’s story.
He said it was wrong that women were not informed of the audits earlier, adding that there were “appalling communications failures”.
However, he urged women to continue attending cancer screening clinics. Last night, Mr Harris announced a Hiqa investigation into the controversy, which will have the power to compel witnesses from the HSE and CervicalCheck.
Hiqa will also review other screening programmes such as BreastCheck to ensure there are no similar issues. A Patient Safety Bill will be brought to Cabinet next week, to legislate for a mandatory disclosure policy in relation to screening.