Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

The National Cancer Screening Service is planning to roll out the national cervical screening programme on a national basis in January 2008. I have allocated additional revenue funding of €5 million to the service this year for this purpose and an additional 30 posts have been approved.

It is expected that approximately 240,000 women will be screened annually. Women aged 25 to 44 years will be screened every three years. Women aged 45 to 60 will be screened every five years.

The service is planning to have cervical screening managed as a national call-recall programme via effective governance structures that provide overall leadership and direction, in terms of quality assurance, accountability and value for money. All elements of the programme, call-recall, smear taking, laboratories, and treatment services will be quality assured, organised and managed to deliver a single integrated national service.

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