The more than 221 women who have been caught up in the CervicalCheck issue are wondering about the ex gratia payment that the Minister for Health indicated would be in place within a few weeks. That was a few weeks ago. I do not know if the Taoiseach is aware that there is a degree of panic among that group. For example, having the slides tested independently will cost each woman approximately £2,500, but they have been told that they will not be able to claim back the money. Commitments have been given and apologies made to the women. In fact, the Taoiseach gave a commitment that no women would have to go to court, but there is an ongoing fight behind the scenes on behalf of the women. When will the ex gratia payments be made? Can something be done about some of the costs the women face?

Two separate pieces of work are being done on the matter. The tribunal which will be an alternative to court for women who wish to claim medical negligence is being established on foot of the recommendations of Mr. Justice Meenan. It is one of only six items of legislation prioritised for this session. Work on it is progressing well and we anticipate that it will be brought before the Houses well before the summer recess, provided matters stay on track. The ex gratia payment scheme which is a separate matter relates to the non-disclosure of the results of the clinical audit. The Minister for Health has drafted a memo, but he needs to identify a judge and make some changes to the terms of reference. I anticipate that the matter will come before the Cabinet next week or the week after. The Minister needs to identify a judge who will be willing to be in charge of the scheme and to ensure the judge will agree to the terms of reference, given that a judge cannot be appointed until he or she is happy with the scheme he or she will administer. In the case of the tribunal, however, a judge has been identified, namely, Ms Justice Mary Irvine.