Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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173. To ask the Minister for Health his views on HIQA’s recommendation that women should be screened for cervical cancer every five years instead of at three yearly intervals as at present. [26445/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In 2015, the HSE's National Screening Service (NSS) requested that HIQA carry out a health technology assessment (HTA) into the clinical and cost effectiveness of using human papillomavirus (HPV) testing as the primary screening method for prevention of cervical cancer. The primary screening method currently used by CervicalCheck is liquid based cytology, with HPV testing as a secondary screening method. HIQA have now completed this HTA and the final report was published on Monday 29 May.

The report states that a change to primary HPV screening at five yearly intervals for all eligible women would improve the efficiency of the CervicalCheck programme. The report also states that this strategy would provide comparable effectiveness to the current screening programme and would lead to some savings.

Discussions on the implementation of a change in the cervical screening technology will take place between the Department of Health, the HSE and the NSS over the coming months.