David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1787. To ask the Minister for Health the latest date in which he communicated with a group (details supplied) in relation to the setting up and operation of the CervicalCheck tribunal; the nature and type of communication; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18973/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I have had a significant level of engagement with the 221+ Patient Representative Group, working with them to progress issues they had raised in respect of the CervicalCheck Tribunal and CervicalCheck cases more generally. This engagement late last year included a number of meetings as well as detailed constructive correspondence on the issues raised. Significant progress was made through this engagement; however, it was not possible to resolve all of the issues raised by the group in the way that they wanted them to be addressed.

My most recent direct correspondence to the group regarding the Tribunal was in a letter of 28 November 2020, in which I notified the group that the Tribunal would be commencing its work the following week. In that letter I also acknowledged the Group’s position in respect of the Tribunal and indicated that I would be happy to meet with them to further discuss the issues raised.

I will continue to work with my Department to address the concerns the group have raised where possible and while there is no ongoing engagement with the group in respect of the Tribunal, engagement continues through other mechanisms such as the CervicalCheck Steering Committee, which has held three meetings this year, the most recent of which was on Wednesday 14 April.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1788. To ask the Minister for Health if his Department has received complaints relating to breaches of data protection in relation to the setting up or operation of the CervicalCheck tribunal; if so, the number of complaints; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18974/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is committed to protecting the rights and privacy of data subjects and adhering to obligations under data protection legislation.

I can confirm that no complaints have been received by my Department about breaches of data protection relating to the setting up or operation of the CervicalCheck Tribunal.

However, a concern was raised that I had been provided with access to the data of women eligible for the CervicalCheck Tribunal by a third party. This concern arose following the issuing of a letter on my behalf by the National Screening Service (NSS) to women who appeared to be eligible for the Tribunal.

The criteria regarding eligibility for the Tribunal relates to a woman's screening history which is information held by the NSS. I do not have access to this information, nor does my Department. Accordingly, I requested that the NSS forward a letter on my behalf to each of the women who appeared to be eligible for the Tribunal based on their screening history, and the NSS agreed to do so.