It has been sadly confirmed that three women who took legal action against the state have died since they first started legal proceedings.
The news of the women’s deaths were confirmed by an Oireachtas Committee on Finance who were carrying out a review on the recent CervicalCheck controversy.
It is understood the women who carried out similar legal proceedings to that of Cervical cancer victim Vicky Phelan, were part of the original 209 people who have been unfortunately caught up in the scandal.
The findings come as the state are looking to determine the facts and issues which led to mis-diagnosis of the women involved.
Speaking before the Committee on Tuesday, the Minister for Health Simon Harris confirmed that an Dr Gabriel Scally will lead an independent investigation into the case in order to determine medical failures in the case.
Although the state will conduct its own internal review in the coming months ahead, it is expected that Dr Scally’s initial review of the case will provide further insight into any failures that may have occurred within the national screening programme.
It is expected that any potential findings will be published in a detailed report that will be reviewed by the health minister in June.