David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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804. To ask the Minister for Health the number of claims which have been made to the CervicalCheck Tribunal; when the tribunal will cease to accept new claims; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9654/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The CervicalCheck Tribunal was established on 27 October 2020 under the CervicalCheck Tribunal Act 2019. Establishment of the Tribunal was finalised with the appointment of the nominated members to the Tribunal with effect from 1 December 2020.

The Tribunal has notified my Department that it has received 19 claims to date. The figure includes two claims that were consolidated. The claims received are a combination of new claims i.e. claims that were not the subject of proceedings before the High Court, and claims transferred from the High Court.

On 24 January 2022, I made an order under the CervicalCheck Tribunal Act 2019 to extend the closing date for receipt of claims by the Tribunal to 26 July 2022. The Act does not provide for a further extension of this date (i.e. post July 2022). The Tribunal has successfully brought a number of claims to conclusion swiftly and I am confident it can continue to do so.

The Tribunal implements in full the recommendations of Mr Justice Meenan in his report as an alternative system to the courts for eligible women. While it is a matter for individuals to decide whether or not to use the Tribunal, I hope that the effectiveness of the Tribunal in quickly resolving claims it has received to date will provide assurance to eligible women who are considering having their claim dealt with by the Tribunal