Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

What will the Minister do to restore trust in the cancer testing system? I listened to the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Devins, who invited HIQA to audit cancer services in Sligo. Has the Minister asked HIQA or the HSE to audit all services that test for cancer and specifically breast cancer given what has happened in Portlaoise? In this way the public could be assured in terms of equipment, the qualifications of those working there and the variation of expertise required to provide a safe service. There is a crisis of confidence.

What is the plan to maintain safe services as we move to where the Minister wants us to be? I refer to Deputy Reilly's question which has not been answered. Have resources been audited? What extra resources are needed? Is there any information to assure us that resources are available for the centres of excellence? The Minister expects most to come from existing resources but I do not believe there is enough in them. We need information on what is available, what is required and the timescale involved. The chain of command seems to be that Professor Keane will report to Professor Drumm. I assume he will be more distant from being held accountable by us, the public representatives.

See this speech in context