Dr. Lorraine Doherty:

To clarify, I was asked earlier about the decision about out-of-cycle or free smears. I know this does not cut the mustard with the Deputy but I was not involved in the decision-making process at the time. I was not even working in the programme at the time. On reflection, all I can do is try to understand why one might have taken that decision to offer those smears. There was clearly a crisis relating to confidence in the programme and a heightened anxiety among the population of women eligible for screening as to whether they could have a test or have confidence in the test. I imagine those kinds of factors may have driven decision-making around that time.