Yesterday, I heard the experience of one of the 209 women at the centre of the CervicalCheck scandal. About two weeks after the story broke, she got a phone call from her consultant. She was told that she was one of the 209 women whose screening was missed. She met her consultant but could not get any details as to what supports might be available. This morning, for the first time, she was assigned to a local area and she was told that in about two weeks' time, she will be able to sit down with a liaison officer to begin a conversation about the type of supports she might need. It will be two months since this story broke before this woman will even meet someone from the State to talk about what supports she might get in the future. After Cabinet on 11 May, the Taoiseach said

Today the Cabinet agreed a range of actions to provide care and support for all the women affected, and their families. We have also agreed that all outstanding legal actions will be dealt with sensitively utilising mediation wherever possible.

The Minister for Health said "[b]ut what they need is not platitudes, they need actions, and I am determined we are going to deliver those actions."

There was great talk from Government of medical cards, prescriptions, childcare and counselling, but it has not happened. Women are borrowing money to get to healthcare appointments on the other side of the country. They are relying on the good faith of solicitors to take legal advice. One man has been trying, without any success, to get access to his wife's medical records. There has been no central point of contact, no counselling, no multidisciplinary teams put in place and no financial support. One woman involved told me this morning that what there is is fear, anger and confusion. Five weeks on from when this story broke, what supports have been put in place for the 209 women at the centre of this scandal? How many of these women have met with the liaison officer? How many of the promised individual support packages have been put in place? What financial assistance has been put in place and is live on the ground for these women today, five weeks on from when we started talking about it here?

I thank the Deputy for raising these issues. He is right to ensure that everything that has been promised is properly followed through on. I have also spoken to women who were part of the 209. The stories that I have heard are that meetings have taken place and that the conversations with the HSE and social workers involved have been positive. If there are cases that the Deputy is hearing about where that is not the case, we need to hear about them and fix that. The Department of Health and the Government are determined to prioritise support for women who are in this difficult, exposed and pressurised situation. We made a clear decision that the HSE would assign social workers, that in each case, there would be proper co-ordination and reach-out from the HSE as opposed to it expecting victims and patients to reach out to the HSE, that people would be met in their homes and that there would be tailored packages of supports, whether discretionary medical cards, out of pocket expenses or counselling for both individuals concerned and their broader families so that we can help people to cope with the stress and trauma over the last five weeks since the scandal broke. That is the intention and determination of the Government. I understand that those conversations are happening and that the co-ordination and commitment made by Government is being followed through by the HSE. If there are cases or parts of the country where that is not the case, we need to hear about them so we can prioritise a response.

It is not just a matter of individual cases. It is not the case that most of the 209 women are being supported in the way that was promised and that there are maybe a few outliers that have been missed. That is not what we hear. It is not what was said outside the gates of Leinster House yesterday, it is not what was said to me by Emma this morning and it was not what was said to me by one of the women involved in supporting the 209 women. That is not what they are saying. They are saying that in some isolated cases, liaison officers have been appointed. In some isolated cases, a conversation is beginning about what supports are available but it is not the norm. The Government was quick to move and implement actions regarding its own political situation. People have been fired, briefings have been given, the Taoiseach has done his Twitter videos and a full investigation is already under way with someone in from abroad. It is happening already. How is it possible that this Government has the ability to implement an international investigation that is live on the ground and yet does not appear to be capable of bringing together these women and liaison officers? That does not seem to make any sense. Can I pass on a request directly from Emma and some other women involved? It is for an event to be organised where women and families can be brought together to meet the officials, and whoever it is they need to meet to help them to figure out what supports are available and what they can get because they are not getting them.

With regard to the women concerned and, in some cases, their partners, the Government's commitment is that the HSE will approach, in an appropriate and sensitive way, those women individually and talk to them in their homes about putting tailor-made packages of support together. That is what we are doing. If people want to have meetings with Department officials or there are concerns about the roll-out of that support and those packages, we can arrange that. The Government is not hiding anything. The Government wants to ensure that the HSE is delivering on the commitments that we have made quickly so that we can provide supports for people and their families through traumatic situations. With regard to court cases, I spoke to the State Claims Agency this morning about the case of Emma Mhic Mhathúna. I understand that the senior counsel representing the State Claims Agency has made it clear that there is acceptance of liability on the State's side with regard to disclosure issues. On the other issues that are being contested that involve Quest Diagnostics, the State Claims Agency and HSE have written to Quest Diagnostics to ask it to change its approach with regard to the request that had been made for assessments of Emma Mhic Mhathúna's children which, as far as we are concerned, is totally inappropriate. We want to see these issues relating to liability and responsibility resolved through mediation, out of a court environment, as quickly as possible. That is what we are trying to pursue.