Ms Fiona Murphy:

I thank the Deputy. The NSAC is a new committee which I believe has just finished its first year. It is chaired by Professor Niall O’Higgins and advises the Minister on all screening programmes. That includes the existing ones and also any recommendations for new screening programmes or indeed any major changes to existing programmes. It is a committee made up of experts in a range of fields. That includes cancer but there are other areas because the committee also looks at other areas, like screening of newborns.

That committee has just finalised its plans, which I understand should be out soon. There is more information on the NSAC on the Department of Health website.

The call will ask the public and the HSE whether there are other screening programmes we should look at, whether we should look at changes to existing programmes and what both the public and the HSE view as priorities. As the committee may be aware, last year the HSE considered additional newborn screening tests and modification to our diabetic retinopathy screening. This year it is being opened up much wider to ask the public and politicians. I understand that some applications are being put together to look at the age at which screening is carried out. The NSAC will seek applications over the next few months. I think the proposal is that at that point the NSAC will ask HIQA to assess those applications. There is a small team based in HIQA to do the evidence assessment. It will look at the literature and the science and ask us about the feasibility of setting up screening programmes, how difficult that would be and so on. It will then come back to the committee which will review the evidence and make a recommendation to the Minister.