Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 73: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the cost of the Health Service Executive contract with a company (details supplied); the length of time the contract is for; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29971/07]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 110: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the cost of sending cervical smears from Ireland to a company (details supplied) in the past year; if she has satisfied herself that the method of testing equates with that here; the efforts being made to expand capacity in Ireland in order that this work can be carried out here; the extra capacity that will be needed for the roll out of the national cervical screening programme; if accreditation will be expedited for laboratories here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29954/07]

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the locations it is intended to have cervical smears and biopsies tested when the cancer control programme is rolled out; if it is intended to outsource some of this work to the US or the UK; her views on whether more of this work could be carried out here if the available graduates were recruited; if it is planned to accredit laboratories doing this work here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29972/07]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 125: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will clarify that patients in the south east are continuing to have their smear tests screened at University College Hospital Galway; if the concerns raised on the capacity of the laboratory services in UCHG to cater for cervical screening in the west and the south east have been addressed; if capacity is adequate into the future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29988/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 73, 110, 121 and 125 together.

The National Cancer Screening Service is planning to roll out the National Cervical Screening Programme on a national basis early next year. Women aged 25 to 44 years old will be screened every 3 years; women aged 45 to 60 will be screened every 5 years. The Service will be available free of charge to eligible women.

All elements of the programme, call/recall, smear taking, laboratories, colposcopy and treatment services will be quality assured, organised and managed to deliver a single integrated national service. The programme will be based on a turnaround time of four weeks for smear testing. The Service will shortly be inviting laboratories that meet the requisite requirements to enter into service level agreements to achieve this objective.

The specific questions raised by the Deputies regarding the cost of sending cervical smear tests to a US based company, the duration of the contract , the quality of these tests and laboratory capacity at University College Hospital Galway relate to the management and delivery of health, personal and social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to respond directly to the Deputy in relation to the matter raised.