The author of the report into the CervicalCheck scandal says people who have had their cervical smear test results misread should be compensated.
Dr Gabriel Scally is appearing before the Oireachtas Health Committee today, where a minute silence was held for Emma Mhic Mhathúna - who died on Sunday - and the more than 200 other women impacted by the scandal.
His recent report identified 'serious gaps' in the expertise and governance of the screening programme.
Appearing before TDs and senators today, Dr Scally said in order to avoid cases being taken to the courts, compensation should be offered to victims.
He observed that when there's an error "which has potentially serious consequences... there should be a mechanism for compensating the person for that error".
He added: "It should be done in such a way to avoid adversarial proceedings."
He also described the open disclosure guidelines for doctors using the cervical screening proramme as 'very seriously deficient'.
He explained: "They weren't so much open disclosure guidelines... it was a kind of policy that clinicians were encouraged to disclose if the clinicians wanted to disclose.
"[That] the guidelines gave them every chance of not disclosing made it really easy for them not to disclose. So it wasn't really open disclosure at all."
