Mr. Damien McCallion:

In relation to the environment with the laboratories - which is what the Senator is referring to here - it is certainly much more challenging. That speaks for itself in terms of what has happened. We are trying to work with the laboratories in a secure way. We look at the numbers and indicators for the laboratories from a public health perspective, which are reviewed and are within the norms. Matters of negligence are, of course, a matter for the courts, as to individual cases, so I would not comment on that.

We are still working with them and they are working with us to try to provide capacity. They are one of our solutions to the current problem we face in the delays that women are experiencing getting back the results of their slides. They are working with us and continuing to work with us, which is important for us, notwithstanding all of the difficulties, in order to ensure that we maintain a screening programme