Tá ceist fíorthábhachtach agam maidir le Riar na hOibre an lae inniu. Baineann sé le mná atá fós i ndrochstaid sa Stát seo.

My question concerns the Government's decision to proceed with the redress scheme for the victims of symphysiotomy. When will the Government announce further details of the scheme? There has been an unnecessary and inexcusable delay when one considers that many of the victims are elderly and some are in poor health. I know from meeting them in my constituency that many are very frustrated and their families are very upset. Some victims have welcomed the redress scheme but many others are angry and unhappy. The Taoiseach may know that the ICCL has strongly backed the victims, particularly with regard to the refusal of the Government to lift the statute of limitations and allow victims, if they wish, to choose whether to go to court or take a different course of action in order to get closure. The Government has denied victims who wish to go down the legal route their day in court. We have all said this is a barbaric practice, but these women have been denied their entitlement to take the legal route if they so wish. Is é mo bharúil féin ná go bhfuil sé sin thar a bheith mícheart. Tá sé de cheart ag na mná seo a gcás a dhéanamh sna cúirteanna má tá sé sin de dhíth orthu. Will the Taoiseach's officials meet with the victims of symphysiotomy to discuss these concerns?

My second question concerns the commitment in the programme for Government to support the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrew's Agreement. The Taoiseach will know, as it was announced by the Government, that talks are due to start, which I very much welcome. I also welcome the interest shown in this by the US Administration. I was, like the Taoiseach, in the US last week and talked to many opinion makers there about the need for this to happen. Can the Taoiseach confirm that the Irish Government will raise the failure of the British Government and others to implement key aspects of the Good Friday Agreement? The Government is a co-equal guarantor to the Agreement. Issues such as Acht na Gaeilge, the lack of a bill of rights, the lack of an inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane, the lack of a North-South consultative forum and numerous others remain. The Taoiseach will also be aware that there is an anti-Agreement axis which is trying to hollow out the provisions of the agreement and undermine the institutions. Will the Taoiseach make it clear that the planned talks must take place free from threat and without precondition, and that they should be time-bound and commence as quickly as possible? Will the Government act as defender, guarantor and champion of progress in the North and hold the British Government to account for its failure to implement key aspects of the agreement?

The Deputy has raised two important questions. He asked whether officials would meet survivors of symphysiotomy. I can confirm that the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, met the three support groups representing women who have had symphysiotomies. Patient Focus and Survivors of Symphysiotomy Limited, have welcomed the establishment of the ex gratia payment scheme. A third group, Survivors of Symphysiotomy, has advised women to reject the scheme.

The purpose of the Minister's meeting was twofold. First, he wanted to check the appropriate medical and health services were in place and that medical cards were being provided to the women. Second, while he wished to hear the views of the support groups in order to help to shape the parameters of the ex gratia scheme, he also wished to confirm to them that the scheme would be put in place as quickly as possible. He was pleased to hear that, apart from some delays in one area, services are being provided quickly. The HSE is providing prompt and appropriate services and its representative at the meetings undertook to address quickly the specific delay raised.

Many of the women are moving on in terms of age and would have to decide whether to go through adversarial, controversial, difficult and stressful court cases which could take a very long time.

That is their decision.

The Government agreed the scheme last July. The Minister responded to the concern of the group and decided that an independent assessor would administer the scheme rather than the State Claims Agency. As the Deputy knows the scheme will be simple, straightforward and non-adversarial. Awards of €50,000, €100,000 or €150,000 will be made to women who provide evidence that they had a surgical symphysiotomy. The amount of the award will depend on the assessment of the effect the symphysiotomy had on each of the women. Medical assessments will be arranged for women with no medical records. The Minister also stressed that he planned to make arrangements to respond to individual queries from women or family members so that the scheme is as user-friendly as possible. He also clarified that there is no obligation on the women involved to waive their right to go to court as a precondition of joining the scheme. The previous Minister, Deputy Reilly, had made that arrangement. Women may opt out of the scheme at any stage in the process up to the time of accepting their awards. If they accept an award they will have to sign a waiver promising to discontinue any legal proceedings against the party arising out of that.

I can assure Deputy Adams that women will have their applications dealt with speedily. This is a sensitive issue. They will receive payments within a number of months. It is a genuine effort to recognise their suffering, what they went through and the difficulties and scars they have had to bear since, and to try to assist them in dealing with a very sad, traumatic and difficult chapter in their lives. I hope that confirmation will bring some comfort to the women.

We previously discussed the other matter raised by the Deputy - namely, the Good Friday Agreement and the talks due to begin. I am happy that we have come to a position whereby the Irish and British Governments, as co-guarantors of the agreement, can involve themselves in, it is to be hoped, bringing some matters to a conclusion. The Minister, Deputy Flanagan, has been in regular contact with the Secretary of State, Ms Theresa Villiers MP. I spoke to President Clinton last week in New York about the necessity for progress, as I am sure Deputy Adams did.

We can discuss Acht na Gaeilge, the bill of rights and other matters such the murder of Pat Finucane. We need a serious analysis of the situation. I understand some remains were discovered this morning, which is welcome and will, it is to be hoped, bring consolation and closure to whatever family is involved. Murders and deaths occurred on all sides. We are moving forward with the new systems in place, such as the PSNI and the judicial system. We need to find a mechanism to deal with the sensitive issues of the past because, if they are transferred into the new system, the same problems will be recreated in a different way. We need to be a bit more imaginative and creative about where and how we want the process to go. There are thousands of people who want closure for their particular problems. People are still affected by the murder of Pat Finucane, the events at Ballymurphy and Kingsmill and whatever else. We need to determine how we can open that reservoir in a way that will bring some sense of closure to the people involved.

If one takes it and tries to transfer it into a modern system in which there are new judicial people and legal systems are being changed, it poisons the entire system again. We must reflect on where we should be and how we might get there in a different way. The Deputy knows from our history that this is going back a very long time and it is locked in there. We must explore different ways of releasing that anxiety and emotion and achieving a sense of closure.