‘Political parking’ of horror stories in an official inquiry

SUDDENLY I feel the beginnings of a regular country ’n’ western song coming on. Here’s the title: ‘We’ll Have a Full Inquiry to Inform Lasting Reeee-forms’.

This one will follow a trusted formula: Set up an inquiry amid a welter of political promises about full disclosure, to be followed by meaningful reforms.

And we’ll publicly cite the prospect of money payments to the wronged, eventually, at the tail end of it all.

That brutal formula tells us many simple political truths in ascending order of crude realpolitik.

What we have seen for the past eight days is there are no competent adults in charge of this true horror story which has shaken every house the length and breath of Ireland.

It has shaken women’s confidence in CervicalCheck. There is a continuing risk that it will undermine people’s confidence in other testing services.

Just when you think it cannot get any worse the drip-drip revelations compound our fears.

The golden rule of any initial communications debacle is that you must bring out all your worst facts and details at one fell swoop. Empty the skeleton cupboard in one go.

Instead we have been treated to a series of partial revelations few of which have ever inspired confidence. The big gambit by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar yesterday was about an inquiry and eventually some redress.

The redress scheme for women who have been hit by the cervical cancer test scandal must await the result of a statutory inquiry, Mr Varadkar told the Dáil.

Unsurprisingly, it was again an emotionallycharged debate, though it was a full seven days after a High Court outcome revealed the case of Limerick mother Vicky Phelan. Mr Varadkar confirmed the growing view that there will be a statutory inquiry into the controversial events at CervicalCheck. After that he would look at a so-called redress scheme which will be based on the outcome of that inquiry.

But even as he was saying this the Taoiseach was presiding over something which continued to take on a more grim look. Mr Varadkar was obliged to defend a decision by his Health Minister Simon Harris to allow HSE boss Tony O’Brien to take up a lucrative board membership at a US

contraceptive firm in addition to his HSE role.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin questioned a potential conflict of interest and argued that the job of heading the HSE was enough for anyone. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald again called for the immediate sacking of Mr O’Brien. She accused the HSE bosses of a deliberate cover-up to protect their own interests and those of the State.

The Taoiseach was trying to recover from Tuesday night’s late revelations that 1,500 more women were at risk from cervical test errors doubling the total to just under 3,000.

“I would ask for the time and space to allow us to establish all the facts. There is an old piece of wisdom which says: ‘Act in haste and repent at leisure,’” he said rather limply.

Many of us will accept that Mr Varadkar remains personally very upset by all these revelations. We know he wants to reassure women that nobody is going to suddenly find out they had an undetected cancer as a result.

But Mr Varadkar is also left defending the decision to allow Mr O’Brien to take a board seat on the San Diego-based firm, Evofem Biosciences.

He said the HSE boss was leaving his job in 12 weeks’ time; there was no conflict of interest because the firm do not deal in Ireland; and Mr O’Brien was taking the post at his own expense and doing the work in his own time.

‘‘ The redress scheme for women hit by the cervical cancer tests mess must await the statutory inquiry