Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Appendix 1 is very interesting. During the crisis the Minister made a decision to provide for free screening, a decision that had profound consequences. I will not criticise him for making it because one could take the argument either way, but the introduction of free screening has had serious consequences for the screening programme. The delay is now 20 weeks, which is having a detrimental affect on women's health. Furthermore, following questioning by me, it has been determined that there is no prioritisation mechanism or way to deal with priorities. The system cannot distinguish between a woman who has to go back for screening quickly or a woman attending for routine screening. The 20-week delay affects equally the woman who needs screening as a priority and the woman who is going back for routine three-year screening. The decision has had other impacts down the line that could have a detrimental effect on women's health because of the delays caused. As a consequence, it has had other impacts outside what was intended and the Minister and the Department did not have the capacity or chose not to provide adequate resources to deal with the excessive demand created by the decision. On top of that, we have a breakdown of the figure of €4.7 million required to provide women with a free GP consultation, with €2.36 million being the estimated cost of the consultations.

There are further costs related to how the laboratories undertaking the work were paid. For commercial reasons, the Department has refused to tell us the cost. I am not sure that this is fair or appropriate. I fail to see a reason it would not tell us. It states the total is €10 million. Therefore, if we deduct the other two amounts, the total is approximately €3 million. Why it cannot state the cost is beyond me because we can add and subtract. I am not happy that it is not telling us what the cost is. There has certainly been secrecy surrounding the dealings with the laboratories from day one. The Royal College of Obstetricians review will probably not be completed this year. It has already been saidit will probably be completed six months from now. There is a secrecy surrounding the relationship with the laboratories. Following the money trail to determine the cost of cervical screening and the work done by the laboratories is shrouded in secrecy and this is another example. I fail to see why the Department cannot give us the figures. I, therefore, ask the Chairman to write back and ask for them.