Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Today we learned that the CervicalCheck screening service has a backlog of approximately 78,000 slides to examine and that it is taking up to 27 weeks to provide reports on those tests. It is taking laboratories an average of 93 days to report on smear checks. Ms Anne O'Connor, the interim director general of the HSE, stated to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health this morning that approximately 370,000 women presented to the programme in 2018, an increase from 280,000 in 2017. There is no question that that increase of circa 90,000 tests results from the decision in April of last year by the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, to offer a free out-of-cycle smear to any woman who wanted it. My sources confirm that the overwhelming impact of that decision has been to create this shocking backlog which is now damaging the programme and undermining its overall objectives.

There has been too much secrecy on this issue for far too long. We need a candid acknowledgement that the wrong decision was made because there was no clinical rationale for it. It was a knee-jerk political reaction by the Minister which has damaged the overall programme and cost approximately €10 million that could have been better used elsewhere in the health service. In May of last year, after the decision was made, I asked the Taoiseach on Leaders' Questions if it was the correct initial response and whether the system had the capacity to fulfil it. I suggested an alternative approach. The Taoiseach replied that, "A financial agreement on the fee was made last Friday" and went on to say that, "Obviously, there will be logistical and cost issues in getting the tests done as soon as possible but we will overcome them". However, the Taoiseach and the Government have not overcome them. The programme is under significant pressure and is in crisis mode dealing with these backlogs.

The then director general of the HSE, Mr. Tony O'Brien, did not advocate or recommend the approach taken. He stated that it was not actively advised at the time and that the message the HSE was trying to communicate was that women should attend for their scheduled programme appointment - nothing more and nothing less.

The Minister, Deputy Harris, received a significant amount of communication following the decision, including from a gynaecologist in the mid west who stated, "This is dangerous", and that there had been a delay in reporting a test carried out in June. As early as August of last year, GPs wrote to the Minister and the programme to state that smear tests were expiring. In October, the Minister was warned by gynaecologists in the mid west. Of course, in October the CervicalCheck programme recommended the discontinuation of out-of-cycle testing because of the damage that was being done.

Looking back, does the Taoiseach accept that the decision to recommend a free smear test to every woman was wrong? Does he accept that it had no clinical basis, was not resourced properly and has caused unacceptable stress and backlogs costing approximately €10 million overall?

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