Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I cannot say for certain when the examination of the slides will commence. I anticipate, however, that it will commence very soon. The scoping and preliminary work done by the Royal College of Surgeons and the British Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology make certain suggestions - for example, that women should be asked for consent. Things were not done properly in the past and we need to do them properly in the future. In that context, it was suggested that if we are to examine women's slides again, they should be asked individually for their consent. It should be borne in mind that it is not just a matter of reviewing their slides but also their entire medical records. What we are seeking for women is not just an answer about their slides but also an answer as to the extent their treatment or prognosis might have been affected. It is a bigger matter than two people just looking at a slide under a microscope. It is probably important to engage women individually, seek their consent for the examination on an individual basis and make sure each woman is briefed and informed of the result of the audit. It is a bigger job than we might have anticipated in May.

The Scally inquiry is independent. The Deputy may not intend to do so but I believe she is questioning its independence by asking the Government to set some sort of deadline. We are not going to do that. We are here to support the work of Dr. Scally. We have asked him to have a sense of urgency in his work. We said we will give him any support he needs. He knows that.

It is intended that the commission of investigation will be established in September. That is, of course, a matter for the Dáil but I believe it can be done in September.

On the medical records, we have set a target of 28 days for any woman who requests her medical records to receive them. It should be borne in mind there are different forms. Some are paper and some are electronic. It is not just patient files. They are held in different places. Some involve X-rays and some involve cytology. It is not as straightforward as it might seem.

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