Mr. Patrick Lynch:

In regard to the helpline, when the serious incident management team met over the weekend, the programme had set up the helpline. We were concerned by the volume of calls that were coming in. The helpline is the initial contact point, but the most important element of the service is the callback.

It is experienced qualified people who are in a position to call back and talk to women about the questions that they have. There were very serious challenges. We understand that as of this afternoon, from the programme, there will now be 72 qualified people taking those calls. Most of them are clinical staff, doctors, nurses and people who have been trained. We have had very good support from others as well. There will also be people from the Irish Cancer Society and from the Marie Keating Foundation, who have agreed to support this.

There is a distinction to be made in respect of the issue of prioritisation. It is not prioritisation, it is that different types of questions have been raised. Some can be answered by a particular type of clinician, some may have to be answered by a doctor. In terms of streaming the calls and the questions, they will be streamed to particular members of the overall team.