Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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1448. To ask the Minister for Health the progress being made in implementing the recommendations of the Scally report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20987/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The implementation plan for the recommendations of the Scoping Inquiry into the CervicalCheck Screening Programme (Scally Report) was approved by Government on 11 December 2018. The implementation plan contains 170 actions. At the end of Q1 2020, 137 of the 170 identified actions were completed.

I fully support the full implementation of the recommendations of Dr Scally and am committed to publishing a quarterly progress report against the recommendations on the Department of Health website.  There has been significant progress by all parties to date and my Department engages on an ongoing basis with the HSE and the National Cancer Registry to oversee implementation of the recommendations.

The Department will soon publish the Q2 2020 report.

Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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1449. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to establish a new independently chaired steering committee to oversee CervicalCheck; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20988/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The CervicalCheck Steering Committee was established in June 2018 to provide oversight and assurance on the implementation of key decisions taken by Government in relation to CervicalCheck and to work to ensure a sustainable and effective cervical screening programme in the interests of women’s health. The Committee is chaired by my Department and membership includes senior officials from my Department and the HSE, clinicians and patient advocates and representatives.

The Committee met in February 2020 and has not met since due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The implementation plan for the recommendations of the Scoping Inquiry into the CervicalCheck Screening Programme (Scally Report) was approved by Government on 11 December 2018. The implementation plan contains 170 actions. At the end of Q1 2020, 137 of the 170 identified actions were completed. The Department of Health will soon publish the Q2 2020 report.

I fully support the full implementation of the recommendations of Dr Scally’s Report and am committed to publishing a quarterly progress report against the recommendations on the Department of Health website. 

As outlined, the Department is currently in the process of compiling the Q2 2020 report which will review progress on implementation against the Scally Report recommendations and I have asked that a further meeting of the Steering Committee be convened in that context.  I intend to appoint an independent chair to that group, as soon as a suitable candidate can be identified.