Taoiseach Micheál Martin has told the Dáil that he has apologised to Patricia Carrick and her family after her cancer diagnosis was missed.
He said the family had been failed and let down.
The apology came after the settlement of a High Court action for €2.75m in damages.
Last month, the Health Service Executive admitted in court that it had misread Ms Carrick's CervicalCheck smear test.
The 51-year-old had three smear tests - in 2014, 2016 and 2019 - which were reported as having no abnormalities. Five months after the 2019 result, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, which had spread to her lymph nodes.
She underwent treatment but suffered a relapse in February. Ms Carrick and her husband Damien have four children.
"On behalf of the Government and on behalf of the nation, I offer my genuine and heartfelt apologies. You have been failed"
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 3, 2020
.@MichealMartinTD apologises in the Dáil to the family of Patricia Carrick, who has terminal cancer after a missed cervical screening pic.twitter.com/WjvZZQB1eM
Labour Leader Alan Kelly said that it is through the resolution of issues around the CervicalCheck Tribunal that apologies can be honoured.
