We move now to Deputy Tóibín of the Regional Group.

On 22 October 2019, the Tánaiste apologised for the humiliation, disrespect and deceit shown by the State to the more than 1,000 women in the cervical cancer scandal. In May 2018, he stood up in this Chamber and made a promise to the women affected by the CervicalCheck controversy that they would not have to go to court in order to get justice. Patricia Carrick from Galway sadly passed away last year, only a month after she won her case in the courts. Patricia was one of many women who had to battle in the courts for justice, often suffering from great ill health, right up to the point of losing their lives. The Taoiseach stood up in the House and apologised to Patricia on behalf of the State.

Statistics released to me this week by the State Claims Agency show that since those apologies and promises that no woman would be forced to go through court, a total of 310 women or families have been, in fact, forced to go through the courts or take legal routes to achieve justice. Tragically, 38 of those claims relate to women who have already died. A total of 77 cases have been lodged this year alone. Meanwhile, the CervicalCheck tribunal, which was established by the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, has so far received eight claims. We all know what happened with the tribunal. The Minister ploughed ahead with it, ignoring the advice of the 221+ group. He disregarded the concerns and did not listen appropriately to the women affected. In an obvious attempt to attract more claims, the Government extended, by way of legislation before the recess, the time period by which women could make claims to the tribunal.

We are all too familiar with how cruel the court experience is for these women, with the State fighting them for months and years and, in some cases, only settling when it becomes apparent the women in question have only days to live. We are all too familiar with the names of the women. We are all too familiar with the frequent news reports featuring their images, often showing a young woman with young children, standing frailly but courageously outside a court. These women should not have to spend the last months of their lives on earth in a courtroom. They should be allowed to enjoy those months with their children and family. They should have the mental comfort and assurance that their children and family will be looked after when they are gone.

Regarding the tribunal, it is clear that women are voting with their feet. A total of 77 women this year have opted to go through the courts or legal routes. Only eight have opted to go through the tribunal. At this stage, will the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, not concede that the tribunal has failed abysmally?

I thank the Deputy for raising this very personal and sensitive issue. I personally know of a number of women and their families who have been impacted. I know the devastating impact it has had on their lives. The Government is here to support the women and their families. That is why we decided, with the full support of this House, to put in place a tribunal to support women to get justice without having to go through what can be the extraordinarily difficult process, in an adversarial environment, of going to a court of law. As the Deputy knows, the Government set up the tribunal on the recommendation of Mr. Justice Meenan and it is now enshrined in legislation.

I acknowledge the numbers the Deputy put on the record, which are undoubtedly very low. I think it is almost certainly the case that some women and their families are waiting to see how the process works out. If changes are required, then of course the Minister is open to any such changes to improve the system that is there. We do not want women to have to go to court to get justice on any matters relating to CervicalCheck. We can all agree in this House on the paramount importance of protecting this service, which is now back up and running. More than 6,000 women are detected and referred for early treatment each year. CervicalCheck continues to have very significant value for population health. In addition, we had the introduction last year of the HPV screening test, which is a very significant milestone for our cervical cancer screening programme.

The recent extension of the statutory deadline for making a claim to the tribunal will ensure that any woman or family eligible for the tribunal will have sufficient time to consider whether to make a claim. I know the extent of the contact and consultation the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, had on a personal level with the 221+ group and the issues it wanted to have addressed as part of the tribunal. The Government has done all it can at this point to support that process. We want a resolution that is non-adversarial in nature and that happens quickly. We acknowledge the real-time issues that are involved here. The Government will keep the matter under review. We want to see more of these cases settled in the tribunal than in the courts. However, we also have to acknowledge that it is the constitutional right of every woman to take a case to the court and to have it adjudicated in our judicial system, if that is what she so chooses. That option remains but we want as many cases as possible to be dealt with and settled through the tribunal.

The Minister for Health promised the 221+ group he would pause the process of the tribunal until there was an agreement reached on how it would work. That did not happen. In fact, the 221+ group found out in the media that it was going ahead. I raised the case of Patricia Carrick in the Dáil last year and, after I raised it, the clinical director of CervicalCheck wrote a letter to me that was critical of my speech. She said women had not been wronged and the slides had not been misread. I found this extremely odd because Patricia Carrick had won her case and received a State apology. It was clear these women had been wronged.

I then sought a meeting with CervicalCheck, at which I made this point to the clinical director. She replied, "The courts were wrong." There is complete confusion right now with regard to the Government's approach to these women. The courts and the Government are at odds with CervicalCheck and the HSE. We have a tribunal that is being avoided wholesale by the women. The Minister's words today, the apologies by the Tánaiste and the promises by the Taoiseach are in a completely opposite direction from what is happening with the women in reality. Will the Minister commit today to reform the tribunal, make it fit for purpose and finally fulfil the Government's promise to these women?

I want to make the point that the purpose of the tribunal is to get cases settled quickly, in months rather than years, and to respect the deeply sensitive, private and confidential nature of the issues at hand. The hearings are, of course, held in private. There are also pre-hearing steps designed to reduce the adversarial nature of claims, including allowing women to give written statements rather than verbal testimony. This is a much more informal process than going through the court system. We acknowledge the numbers the Deputy referenced.

They are being ignored wholesale.

The tribunal's rules of procedure enable it to make directions to progress urgent matters. The tribunal registrar has confirmed that urgent claims will be facilitated.

It remains the right of any woman or family to go to court. The Government wants to make the tribunal entirely user-friendly and the vehicle of choice for the settlement of these issues.

We recognise the right of women to go to court if that is their choice, but the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, is continuing to keep the issue under review and if improvements can be made, he will bring forward the proposals.