The Tanaiste has said he is sorry that the Lynsey Bennett case was not settled sooner. The seriously ill mother-of-two settled a case against the HSE over the alleged mishandling of her cervical smear tests on Wednesday. After the CervicalCheck scandal emerged in 2018, Leo Varadkar – then Taoiseach – said no woman involved should have to go to court. Mr Varadkar was challenged on this by members of the Opposition during Leaders’ Questions on Thursday. Ms Bennett was among hundreds of women affected by the controversy around incorrect smear test results. A 2018 review identified at least 221 women diagnosed with cervical cancer who were not previously told about misreported smear tests, and could have been alerted to the early stages of cancer.