We come to Questions on Promised Legislation. Seven speakers have indicated after the leaders. I again ask for Deputy's co-operation.

I call Deputy McDonald, who has one minute.

Earlier the Taoiseach issued a heartfelt apology to Patricia Carrick and her family. I want to raise the issue of the tribunal on CervicalCheck. I understand that today the 221+ group has written to the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, a detailed letter setting out again the asks of this group, which I think are entirely reasonable, for a tribunal process that is non-adversarial, for the State to settle rather than contest claims where matters are clear-cut and for the labs to be pursued separately by the State rather than using the survivors to do that work for it. We also need to ensure that no survivor is statute barred from making a claim due to the delays in setting up the tribunal.

It will be very difficult to respond in one minute. The CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill was passed by this House in July 2019. It was welcomed by all parties in the House. The specifics of the Bill were to help all the women who have been impacted by CervicalCheck to have their claims heard and determined in the most timely and sensitive way possible. It is a far better alternative than the courts in the collective view of the House. There have been meetings with the 221+ group and its issues are being considered in great detail by the Minister for Health and his Department. Many issues have been raised over the workings of the tribunal. The Minister remains committed to addressing those concerns. It was due to start earlier this year but was delayed due to the Covid pandemic. The Minister was contacted during the summer urging him to proceed. To be fair to him, he moved very quickly to try to get things developed. There will be continuing engagement to get this right.

On 20 September 1997, the Taoiseach attended the wedding of Deirdre Langford and John Wall. The Taoiseach knows John Wall. He knows that the report on the provision of a medical card for those who are terminally ill will be brought to a meeting tomorrow. That report will not recommend such a card. The Taoiseach is on record as supporting this on 4 February. The Minister, Deputy Harris, did so on 12 December last year and the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, God knows how many times. This is a policy decision and not about the clinical group. Will the Taoiseach in the next 24 hours sit down with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to ensure that when they meet John Wall tomorrow via Zoom the medical card will be made available to all those who are terminally ill? I believe everybody in the House and the country supports this. The Taoiseach should not let this report see the light of day.

I am aware of the situation. Historically, as the Deputy knows, people with terminal illnesses received medical cards.

That is why this is so ridiculous.

There was a change to that in more recent years.

A couple of hundred thousand euro-----

Then there was what I thought was a reversion back to the practice as we understood it in the past. I will certainly deal with this and will be talking to the Minister for Health on the issue.

The collaborative forum of survivors from the mother and baby homes was established by the then Minister, Katherine Zappone, in July 2018, primarily to act as a consultation and engagement group for the mother and baby home issue. Recent weeks have been very difficult for the group. It was not consulted at all during the preparation of the mother and baby home legislation. It has written to all Members of the Dáil today to express its frustration and anger at that. Survivors have said that they feel that trust has completely broken down with officials. They say that someone in the office of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, pointed them to Twitter to find out what was happening with that legislation. I certainly feel that is unacceptable. Does the Taoiseach accept there were major failings when it came to consultation on that legislation with the survivor groups? They have also asked for the forum to be reconvened. Will the Taoiseach ensure that forum is reconvened as soon as possible?

I had a number of consultations with different groups last week on the overall issues. The Government has issued a very comprehensive statement on its approach to the mother and baby homes issue more generally. The Minister has received the report from the commission of inquiry. There is the idea of creating more than just an archival repository centre, but a centre that would tell the story of what happened, revealing dark chapters of our past in terms of not just mother and baby homes but the wider issues.

Despite what some are saying, it is very clear that the records would have been destroyed if the legislation that was passed two weeks ago had not been passed and vital records would have been made redundant, which would have been in nobody's interest. Therefore, it was important that the legislation was passed. That said, I accept consultation should happen. I will talk to the Minister about the consultation forum. The idea of consulting with as many groups as possible is one I will work with.

The questions are awfully important for everyone. If I keep allowing people to run over time, other people will not get in.

Last week the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, sent a flood of letters to dozens of immigrants in this country who are being refused leave to remain. It is outrageous to threaten them with deportation in the middle of a pandemic. I am particularly concerned that a number of them are care workers. Today I spoke to one who worked right through the pandemic, looking after elderly people in a care home in Kildare.

Her boss spoke of how she gowned up, was at the front line, entered rooms in which people were Covid-positive and barried up with nursing like the rest of them. We are threatening to deport this woman, other care workers and a slew of other immigrants in the middle of a pandemic. How outrageous is that? The Minister has powers under the Immigration Act to revoke those deportation orders. I am asking that the Taoiseach instruct her to do so, that we do not deport anyone during the pandemic and in particular that we do not throw out people who have worked hard to save our lives and protect us.

I do not have the specific details of the particular cases. If the Deputy sends them to me and to my office, we will see what we can do to engage with the Minister on that.

The Minister has the specifics. I thank the Taoiseach.