LAWYERS FOR EMMA Mhic Mhathúna have successfully secured an extra €650,000 of her settlement to be given over so that she and her family can move closer to Dublin, where she is currently receiving treatment.

The Kerry mother-of-five secured a €7.5 million settlement over her incorrect smear test results in the High Court last month.

The now-terminally ill mother-of-five had launched legal action against the HSE and Quest Diagnostics, the US-based company that analysed her smear test results.

While €1.1 million was granted immediately to Mhic Mhathúna to buy a family home in Kerry and to go on a family holiday, the rest was to be put aside in a fund for her children.

Lawyers today sought an additional sum to facilitate the purchase of a home in Dublin that has an asking price of €1.25 million.

The High Court heard today that the house that had been earmarked in her current residence of Ballydavid in Kerry had structural problems and, for a number of reasons, she and her family had the decision to move closer to Dublin.

Emma Mhic Mhathúna is currently receiving treatment for her cancer in the capital. Her father, who is living in the UK, would be spending more time with her and Dublin would be a far easier place to travel to.

Furthermore, she said that her uncle and his wife would take on an increasingly prominent role in the care of their children as time went on.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross said it was”important to get this right”, and that “in the circumstances” it appeared appropriate to release the extra sum so that Mhic Mhathúna could purchase the home.

“I’ll make that order,” he said.