James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

This matter is close to my heart because in 1999 I was part of a team that negotiated the original pilot programme in the mid-west. We were told it would be rolled out within a short period. Why has this roll-out taken so long? Being a new Deputy I want to be nice. However, I must question the bona fides of a HSE that is currently outsourcing the laboratory requirement. If it has been doing that during the year because it cannot keep up with the amount of work it is getting before it rolls out nationally, how serious was it in regard to rolling it out nationally? The HSE's bona fides are highly questionable.

Can the Minister explain the delay of eight or nine years? Can she confirm that currently there is only one accredited laboratory in the country?

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