Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I strongly support that principle. The condition of the patient should be paramount in the determination of where, how and when treatment is given.

I return to the issue of accreditation. INAB deals with accreditation and has a series of stages, although I will not list them. When tests were first referred to the Manchester laboratory, was its status sought? When did the first referrals take place? Was there a request at that stage for the laboratory's ISO status to be clarified? I would have presumed it was requested, given that it is required according to the information we have but, in light of the information that has emerged, it seems there was no such request. In such a situation, how was it decided to make referrals if there was no clarification as to the status of the laboratory at the time?