Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegates.

As a public representative, I take every opportunity to remind people of how successful and important cancer screening is. I even wrote an article on it for a Sunday newspaper. However, as a public representative, I also have a role in getting to the facts. Unfortunately, this comes under the same tiered structure in the HSE which has let down many women. We need to see if there are issues which need to be dealt with by the committee. The reason the delegates have been brought before the committee is there are issues with CervicalCheck and we want to get to the facts. I hope we will not have real concerns. In our position we know the difference between screening and diagnostics. We know that programmes have a percentage of issues.

I am concerned that Professor O’Doherty said she would be happy to implement the open disclosure policy. She does not have a choice. I become concerned when I hear people keep talking about best international practice. It is correct that our screening programmes be mirrored against others. I hate the phrase “best practice”. I do not believe in it. I believe there is practice and that there are circumstances. I believe in the Kilmeaden cheese version, namely, take the best and get rid of the rest because no two circumstances are perfect. Professor O’Doherty must adhere to what is in the law and policy. A policy of open disclosure should have been implemented but it was not. To be fair, she has been very open about it, but she has no choice. In the future it will have to be implemented and should have been in the past. As a result of what has been said today, the committee must move up the food chain and through Mr. McCallion determine why this did not happen. That is one outcome from the meeting.

I was the first to raise the issue of National Cancer Registry Ireland, NCRI, and the sharing of information. At the Committee of Public Accounts last week its director was open about the four screening programmes and where there was sharing and where there was not. Will the delegates outline in detail what is being shared? I do not want to find out that information has not been shared at some level. We have had ridiculous data protection issues.

As clinical director of BreastCheck, does Professor O’Doherty have concerns which she would like to express to the committee about how the HSE supports the programme? Deputy Bernard J. Durkan is coming after me and will probably chase the same question.