Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I again thank Deputy Alan Kelly. The women in this particular case deserve all of our support. I will personally raise the issue he mentioned about the drug with the Minister, Deputy Harris.

As Members will be aware, the independent expert panel review is one of two reviews undertaken on CervicalCheck in 2018. The completion of the review is a priority for the Government. It is one key aspect of the work being undertaken to ensure the national cervical screening programme is as effective as it can be. Separately, Dr. Gabriel Scally was asked to undertake a scoping inquiry and his final report was published on 12 September last. An implementation plan has now been published on the website of the Department of Health. Significant work is under way within the Department, the HSE and the National Cancer Registry in progressing the implementation of the 50 recommendations made by Dr. Scally in his report on CervicalCheck. Significant funding has been allocated in budget 2019 to support the implementation of the recommendations. In addition, funding will also support the extension in 2019 of the HPV vaccine to boys, as well as the introduction of HPV testing as the primary cervical screening test. The work of the expert panel review, together with the implementation of the recommended improvements in the cervical screening programme, are vital to ensure that women can feel confident in the cervical screening programme. Through a combination of screening and vaccination for boys and girls, we can make cervical cancer a rare disease in Ireland. That is the Government's goal and we take it very seriously.

See this speech in context