Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. I apologise that I must ask my question and then leave because I have an appointment.

My interest is in the decision that was taken in 2008 on outsourcing the screening service. It is pretty clear that it was a political decision. The witnesses might be able to fill the committee in on the clinical involvement at the time. What is the witnesses' understanding on where the decision to outsource came from? Was there a huge amount of consultation with clinicians in the run-up to the decision to outsource? My memory of it is that it was a purely political decision and not a clinical decision. In the run up to the decision being made, what was the level of discussion with clinicians, what were the issues identified and what was the ultimate deciding factor in 2008? We are all dealing with the consequences of the decision to outsource and it is very material to the discussions that will take place at this committee.