Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I take the initial point made by the Deputy as partisan and look forward to debating health policy with him on another occasion. On CervicalCheck, he is correct that there have been capacity issues owing to the fact that many women sought reassurance during what was a very fraught and difficult period in the public health service and sought and obtained an additional smear test. Women who have never used the programme before have also begun to use it, which is one good thing to have emerged from a difficult situation. The HSE is actively engaged with the laboratories to see if additional capacity can be found to ensure the turnaround times will be much more satisfactory.

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