Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

CervicalCheck was before the committee last week and was being asked about the new HPV screening programme. Regrettably, it is now looking as though it could be 2020 or 2021 before that comes into being. When I pushed on why it was not being made available sooner, the answer I was given was that decisions of this nature must be based on clinical evidence and they must be safe. The Minister's decision was to offer what I consider to be a blanket, free out-of-cycle smear regardless. That is what the Minister's tweet did say. My view on Twitter is that if the Minister chooses to use it to communicate a message, he is responsible for how it is taken up. Perhaps it is not the best way for a Cabinet Minister to conduct his affairs. That is a matter for the Minister, however.