Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister told the Dáil that 4,600 women would need to be tested again, as opposed to the original figure of 6,000. While this slightly lower figure might be spun as good news by him, it is in no way good news or a comfort for the 4,600 women who have to be retested. The Minister stated the vast majority of the 4,600 had been contacted, but the "vast majority" is not enough. Even if one person has not been contacted, it is one person too many. It is a shambles. Is the Minister forgetting that the women in question are grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters, nieces and much more? They are invaluable to the people in their lives. The least the Government can do is offer free repeat smear tests to every woman in the country who believe she needs a retest. In my constituency of west Cork many women are living in fear and have no confidence left in the CervicalCheck programme. They are concerned the results they have received in the past may be wrong. They deserve the right to a free retest, if that is their wish.

The Minister is sidestepping the issue and saying free tests would put additional stress on the system, but how much more pressure would be put on the system if, God forbid, it turns out that some of the women in question have cancer? World Cancer Day was only two days ago, yet the Government still believes one can put a value on life. Does the Minister not believe it is in everyone's best interests for the Government to ensure women will be retested in order that no more lives will be lost unnecessarily to cancer when early detection could prevent that loss?

While the average waiting time is 22 weeks, some women are waiting for more than six months. Will the Minister guarantee that women's health will not be put at risk as a result of these unacceptable waiting lists? I doubt that he can reassure me. A wise person once told me that, when a doctor gave someone medical advice and the patient needed to make a decision, the patient should ask the doctor what he or she would do if it were his or her wife or mother who was involved. Without getting personal, I ask the Minister to consider whether he would accept his mother or wife having to wait up for to six months for CervicalCheck results.

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