CervicalCheck cut-off date ‘not cold or callous’

The Government has denied being “cold and callous” by setting a cut-off point to compensate expenses incurred by victims affected by the CervicalCheck scandal.

In the Dáil earlier this week, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said it was not possible to pay people retrospective expenses prior to May 11 last. But yesterday Tánaiste Simon Coveney said no arbitrary cut-off point has been applied.

He was responding to criticisms made by Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty who said the imposition of a cut-off date means that no account is being taken of the costs incurred by those at the centre of the scandal. “They have been incurring costs for many, many years,” he said.