Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The HSE has not given any positive signals about capacity. We are one year on since the promise was given and the offer made. There is no extra capacity. The Minister made a point about women going to private operators and paying privately. A strong point was made by Deputy Donnelly on the previous occasion. He said that shows there is capacity somewhere if people pay for it. The question still applies. Why can the HSE not buy it? If private individuals can source it, why can the HSE not source it? The delay in sourcing this extra capacity leaves a great deal to be desired. I was going to ask when the backlog would be cleared. I think we could be looking at the next year or two because it is such an utter mess.

I have a more specific question around MedLab Pathology. Is MedLab terminating its agreement with the HSE? When is that happening? What is happening to the smears or slides that have gone to MedLab? What is happening to the workload the company has?

In recent days the Minister has referred to triage being used. Will he explain what he means by that? Does he mean it applies to anyone who presented for a repeat reassurance smear who has a history? What does a history constitute? Where does that put a woman in terms of one, two or three? Will the Minister explain the triage element?