Speaking in the Seanad today on the CervicalCheck Tribunal (Amendment) Bill 2021 – the purpose of which is to allow amendments to the CervicalCheck Tribunal Act 2019 to extend the period for receipt of claims by the CervicalCheck Tribunal and provides that the Minister may by order extend that period further – Green Party Senator Pauline O’Reilly stated “time and time again we have scandals that are related to women’s healthcare. It’s ten years ago since Vicky Phelan’s smear test. That’s ten years and we are still in this place discussing this”.
O’Reilly continued “I think there needs to be a proper investigation by the State in relation to what has happened around justice and around healthcare during the pandemic that has impacted women more than men.
“We know that women and children have been impacted more by the pandemic than men have been, but I think that we need to have a proper investigation of that”.
O’Reilly concluded “time and time again we say, let’s put something on the table that’s going to restore trust in the Irish State. It’s quite right that we do that, but I think we have an awful long way to go. The Restoration of Trust meetings are welcome but I think it’s not going to actually do what we need it to do unless we have a broader conversation around the role and the place of women in the State and the support that Departments give to women”.