Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 238: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the progress she has made in introducing a national cervical screening programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3050/08]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 256: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that mortality rates for cervical cancer here are rising; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3245/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 238 and 256 together.

The National Cancer Registry has advised my Department that the number of deaths from cervical cancer has been increasing on average by about 1% per year. However, when adjusted for population growth, there has been no overall increase, and when also adjusted for age there has been a 1% average decrease in mortality rates.

The roll-out of a national cervical screening programme is the most efficient population approach to preventing and controlling cervical cancer. The National Cancer Screening Service (NCSS) is planning to roll out such a programme on a national basis around the middle of this 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 everywhere in the country. Approximately 230,000 women will be screened annually, assuming an 80% take up by 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 NCSS is in the process of procuring quality assured internationally accredited laboratory capacity. The laboratories will be required to meet turnaround times of ten working days. This process is due to be completed by end March. In terms of smeartaker capacity, the NCSS completed a stakeholder consultation process in November 2007 and published a draft smeartaker contract for consultation in the first week of January this year. This consultation process will end on 28 February next and the actual smeartaker contract will be published shortly thereafter. The programme will be based on a turnaround time of four weeks for smear testing. The NCSS is also carrying out a baseline quality audit of existing clinical colposcopy services in the State to establish their fitness for purpose in the context of a national cervical screening programme.

Additional revenue funding of €5.0m was allocated to the NCSS in 2007 for the roll-out of the programme and an additional €15.0m has been allocated in 2008. An additional 30 posts have been approved to facilitate integration and roll-out of the programme.