Neil Michael: Taoiseach's genuine apology to dying woman the real drama of Dáil

Patricia Carrick. As we endure our new lives in the pandemic, it is all too easy to forget there are those who are not just dealing with that, but they are also living with the dire consequences of the CervicalCheck debacle. Photo taken by her son Ciarán MacChoncarraige

When Taoiseach Micheál Martin rose to his feet in the Dáil at 2pm today, a dying woman was being held closely in a hospital bed 200km away. By Patricia Carrick's side was her devoted husband, Damien.

He had arrived there just 15 minutes beforehand with a tablet on which they could both watch the statement read out live.