Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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1526. To ask the Minister for Health if the HSE is providing the tension-free vaginal tape procedure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33960/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In response to concerns raised in Ireland regarding complications associated with the use of mesh devices in late 2017, the then Minister for Health requested the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to prepare a report on the matter, which was published in November 2018 www.gov.ie/en/publication/791f2a-the-use-of-uro-gynaecological-mesh-in-surgical-proecedures-report-to/. The report was informed by the available national and international evidence and the personal experiences of women who have suffered complications following mesh surgery.

In July 2018, in advance of publication of the full report, the CMO requested the HSE to pause all mesh procedures where clinically safe to do so. This pause remains in place.

As this Parliamentary Question also relates to an operational issue, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services.