Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I accept his bona fides in stating he will get us the information but, with respect, these are Dáil statements on CervicalCheck. The backlog is one of the most pressing issues. The latest data we received was in February. The Minister should have the figures at his disposal for the Dáil this morning on what the backlog is because we need to know whether it is in increasing, decreasing or stationary.

In the interests of time I will put my other questions together. I welcome the movement on the ex gratiapayment but by the time it is implemented it will probably have been a year since Dr. Scally recommended it. Why has it taken so long to do something that seems to be fairly straightforward?

My next question is related to CervicalCheck. It is very important and probably deserves more time in the Chamber. It relates to the court ruling in the recent case on screening, which has sent a shockwave through all screening programmes. Senior doctors are speaking to me about the possible implications of having to shut down entire screening services in the country. Is the Minister able to give a brief response on what actions the Government is taking on this front relating to CervicalCheck?

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