Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Let me reassure the House that this is not a resource issue. When I say it is a "capacity issue", I refer to the capacity in the labs. At a GP level, doctors have coped extremely well with the significant increase in the demand for smear tests and out-of-cycle smear tests offered without charge. My understanding is that the challenge has been at the lab level, and this is not about resources; rather it relates to the capacity of labs with regard to testing and throughput.

The Deputy is giving the impression that somehow the Government is trying to hide something and we would not be talking about this if it had not been for the Fianna Fáil leader raising it yesterday. That is not true. The HSE stated it was made aware of this matter in November and the Minister was made aware of the issue with secondary HPV testing in December. The issue was discussed at the CervicalCheck steering committee, including with patient representatives who are working very hard on that committee on the range of issues involved and outlined in published weekly reports. The Minister sought regular updates but a final report was not available to him relating the numbers involved or who they were. When the matter was raised yesterday, he did not have the information and could not provide it until it became available.

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