Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am sorry about that. Yes, there is funding this year for HPV testing. It was allocated in budget 2019. Mr. McCallion and Dr. Doherty will have told the committee last week that they are working to come up with a definitive timeline. We are working towards the fourth quarter of 2019, which will be challenging. There are a couple of moving parts involved, the big one being the tender. We have the funding and I am working for it to be delivered this year. The HSE is very clear that this is the policy direction and would have confirmed that to the committee last week. It is important to point out that we will be among the first countries in the world to make this transition, although not the first. A number of countries have done it, including the Netherlands and Australia. There are a number of stages and I expect to receive a definitive timeline on it from the HSE in the next couple of weeks. Everyone is working as hard as they can to bring it in by the end of the year.