State Pays Nearly €19 Million in CervicalCheck Litigation Costs, C&AG Finds
The Comptroller & Auditor General reports that the State has spent almost €19 million on claims linked to the CervicalCheck scandal up to the end of 2025.
The public-spending watchdog’s 2025 report shows the State has disbursed €18.9 million for CervicalCheck litigation, of which €6.6 million covered damages awarded to claimants. The issue stems from a 2018 revelation that women diagnosed with cervical cancer were not informed of subsequent audit findings that often contradicted their original smear results, potentially affecting treatment outcomes. By the close of 2025 the State Claims Agency had logged 411 related claims, up from 402 the year before, including 86 psychological injury claims from family members.
Thirty of these cases were settled in 2025, bringing the total resolved claims to 337, or 82 % of all filings. The majority of actions are directed at the testing laboratories and the Health Service Executive for failing to disclose audit results, with mediation suggested as a non-adversarial route when feasible. Overall SCA settlement costs fell to €513 million in 2025, while the estimated liability for outstanding claims rose to €5.46 billion.
Why it matters
It reveals the financial and legal fallout from a major health-screening failure affecting many Irish women.
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