James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

Question 11: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if, in view of the reported plans to outsource the reading of all 300,000 cervical smears outside this State to another continent, causing the closure of all cervical smear laboratories here and the consequent loss of more than 100 highly skilled specialised jobs involved in the teaching and reading of cervical smears at a time of economic downturn, she will confirm that the accuracy rate of the non-Irish tender was only 85% compared to 95% in the Irish laboratory at University College Hospital, Galway; her views on whether it is untenable to leave Ireland in a position where we will have no laboratories for cytology screening, and that Ireland will be at the mercy of the vagaries of the international commercial laboratory operators; if she will reconsider the path she is taking and instead properly resource, update and fund adequately the screening laboratories here as formerly agreed by her Department and all the stakeholders in Limerick in 2005 as per the Dr. McGoogan report on cervical screening services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16776/08]

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