Mr. Tony O'Brien:

That echoes a point made by Deputy O'Connell, that irrespective of whether there has been no previous screening history or one with no abnormality detected, the right course of action for any women experiencing symptoms such as unusual discomfort or bleeding is to seek a medical consultation with a general practitioner, which is likely to lead to a rapid referral to a colposcopy service. In such situations, a clinical examination rather than a smear test would be indicated. That is always true, irrespective of screening history.