Ex boss of Cervical Check to break her five-month silence
The former CervicalCheck boss forced out at the height of the scandal is set to break her five-month silence next week.
The understands ex-clinical director Gráinne Flannelly has told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) she wants to give her side of the story when the committee meets with health officials next Thursday.
In a letter to committee chair Sean Fleming, Dr Flannelly said she is aware the PAC is planning to meet with CervicalCheck and the Department of Health in the coming days.
And, just a week after a long-awaited independent report into the scandal, she said she wants to break her silence and give her own version of what happened.
Dr Flannelly was forced to quit CervicalCheck in April after Health Minister Simon Harris said he had lost faith in senior managers. Hours earlier, she admitted in a car-crash radio interview she and others failed to inform women of what happened.
Meanwhile, during a debate in the Dáil on the Scally report into the CervicalCheck scandal, Mr Harris insisted an investigation into who leaked elements of the report to the media would occur, but admitted it is often difficult to uncover those responsible.
While there was wide praise for the tone and content of the report, Mr Harris faced fresh calls for him to resign over the scandal.
Independent TD for Tipperary, Mattie McGrath, was deeply critical of Mr Harris’ handling of the controversy.
