Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the 13 Members of the House for their contributions to the Order of Business. Senator Clifford-Lee raised the very important and sensitive issue of the CervicalCheck backlog. We are all concerned at this backlog. The most pertinent point the Senator made was that we welcome the fact that so many women have come forward for rechecks. I noted the remarks of the acting director general of the HSE at the Joint Committee on Health this morning. She said that the HSE is working to grow and develop laboratory capacity. It is important that anything the Government does is motivated by those women who are, in some cases, very seriously ill. It is also important to acknowledge in our commentary that the Minister sought a capacity plan to address the backlog from the HSE last year. That has not yet been received. The HSE and the Minister are engaged in decreasing the turnover time. It is a worry and a concern. We all know people who are waiting. I hope that this matter will be dealt with expeditiously by the HSE. It is also important to note that the HSE has limited ability. That is why we have to outsource and to go to outside agencies and laboratories. The HSE has also agreed to undertake additional recruitment, over time, to decrease the turnover time.

The Senator also indirectly referenced the remarks of Mr. Justice Kevin Cross regarding the number of judges. This Government has approved more than 40 judges since 2016. Senator Clifford-Lee, her colleagues and other colleagues in the House - to be fair to her, it is not so much Senator Clifford-Lee - by their obstructionist behaviour around the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017-----