Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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340. To ask the Minister for Health the details of the State’s financial liabilities arising out of compensation in relation to the CervicalCheck controversy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2427/19]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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341. To ask the Minister for Health if a compensation tribunal will be established immediately in order that women terminally ill with cervical cancer can have their claims processed as quickly as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2428/19]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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344. To ask the Minister for Health if a person (details supplied) has commenced preparatory work on the establishment of the CervicalCheck tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2431/19]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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345. To ask the Minister for Health when the legislation to establish the CervicalCheck tribunal will be published; when the tribunal will be operational in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2432/19]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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346. To ask the Minister for Health if working premises have been secured for the proposed CervicalCheck tribunal; the details of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2433/19]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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347. To ask the Minister for Health the terms of reference for the independent statutory tribunal to deal with claims arising from the CervicalCheck controversy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2434/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 340, 341 and 344 to 347, inclusive, together.

On 18 December 2018, the Government agreed to establish an independent statutory tribunal, chaired by Ms Justice Mary Irvine, to deal with claims arising from CervicalCheck. The Tribunal will be established based on the recommendations set out by Mr Justice Charles Meenan in his recent report on an alternative system for dealing with cases arising from CervicalCheck.

The establishment of the Tribunal is an urgent priority for the Government and my Department is currently preparing the necessary legislative proposals to expedite this.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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342. To ask the Minister for Health if women who find their cervical smear tests were misread and have now been diagnosed with cancer can avail of the care package being provided to the 221 women whose smears were audited by CervicalCheck; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2429/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In response to the particular circumstances arising from the non-disclosure of the results of clinical audit, the Government decided on 11 May 2018  to put in place a comprehensive package of support measures for women (and their families) who have been identified as having been diagnosed with cervical cancer since 2008, for whom cytology review recommendations following clinical audit differed from the original test, and for any other women so identified by the clinical review to be undertaken by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).

The provision of supports to women and families is continuing, and the HSE reports that the number of supports being provided continues to increase on a weekly basis in response to requests.   Arrangements are in place to reimburse, on receipt of claims, a range of costs that the women and their families may incur, including travel costs, childcare costs and medical appointment costs among others. In addition, measures have been put in place to ensure that retrospective costs are reimbursed, while an automatic review system is in place to simplify and streamline the claims process to ensure prompt payment of all items covered by the Government decision.  To date, just over €1.18m has been reimbursed in respect of various health and social care costs, almost €910,000 of which relates to retrospective payments.  In addition, some 693 medical cards have been issued as part of the supports package, while women are also being supported in accessing certain drugs, the costs of which are also being met by the HSE.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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343. To ask the Minister for Health the waiting time for cervical smear test results; the number of women waiting for a repeat smear test following his commitment to provide same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2430/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In May 2018, I asked CervicalCheck to make the necessary arrangements to provide that any woman who had had a CervicalCheck smear test, and whose GP considered that they should have a further test, to access such a further test without charge. This decision was made in good faith to address the considerable fears of the many anxious women in Ireland as a result of significant media coverage of the issues that emerged in late April.  

In the months since then, there has been a significant increase in the volume of women presenting for smear tests. This includes women who have availed of the out of cycle tests, but also a greater number of women presenting for scheduled screening.  

This increased level of engagement with the programme is very welcome. However, the increased demand has undoubtedly put immense pressure on lab capacity and the HSE has advised that, currently, results of smear tests may take up to 22 weeks from the time of the test. Although many results are returned in less time, some may take longer. 

The HSE has been working actively with the labs to manage this issue and to improve turnaround times for smear tests. The HSE reports that laboratories have agreed to undertake additional recruitment, provide for overtime and manage annual leave in an effort to minimise the backlog. In addition, the HSE is aiming to source additional screening capacity, which would improve the turnaround time of results. However, sourcing capacity and resources is a global challenge as countries start to move to primary HPV screening, which vastly reduces the requirement for cytology screening staff. 

The HSE is currently developing a capacity plan to take account of available capacity and expected demand, with the aim of bringing the programme into stabilisation this year.  This is a priority concern for my Department and the HSE. 

In relation to the number of women awaiting the results of a repeat smear test,  I have asked the HSE to provide this information directly to the Deputy.