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

It is regrettable that that documentation is not available. Dr. Denton referred to how well the screening programme compares with other programmes of a similar nature. However, those programmes may have more of an emphasis on quality. Am I right in saying that the things that work well in the programme are administrative details, such as the fact that every woman between 18 and 65 is included, and are written to and followed up with, rather than the practice? If we are comparing with other jurisdictions, I would like us to fare well in comparison with jurisdictions which emphasise quality. I say this as someone with a material interest in this screening programme. We can tick the box of the administrative stuff, in that women get their letters, their results, their follow-ups, and their next letters, and it is not easy for someone to slip through the system. If someone moves house and misses their letter, there is even an advertisement on the radio to remind them. It is well organised in that way. However, to compare favourably with other jurisdictions we should be doing well, not just on the administrative side, which we clearly are, but also in driving quality and capacity upfront, rather than focusing on price all the time.