Dáil debates

Thursday, 24 January 2019

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions

 

12:05 pm

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

We need to pay for that to ensure the job is done properly. That is instead of trying to score political points on the back of getting a proper and professional piece of independent work to ensure we get an accurate assessment of what happened and we can learn lessons for other projects. The Deputy mentioned the potential nurses' strike and that is before the Workplace Relations Commission, the machinery of the State, and I hope it will be able to bring sensible proposals that can be the basis for an agreement to avoid the significant impact on patients that strike action would bring. We all hope that will be possible.

The CervicalCheck matter has been very demanding, particularly for so many women and their families who have felt its impact. It has also had an impact in the Department of Health, the HSE and the Government, and we are ensuring we are doing everything we can to protect a screening service that saves lives while putting in place the necessary changes to improve it. We must ensure all of this is transparent. It is what we have been trying to do and will continue to do.

The Deputy mentioned secondary testing where low-grade changes have been detected on a cervical smear test. A second so-called triage test that looks for the HPV virus is carried out by laboratories in those cases. An issue has emerged with one of the three labs involved and we are working to correct it. We will continue to do that.

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