The Government announced that the new human papillomavirus, HPV, test - I may have inadvertently called it the "HPV vaccine" earlier - would be available last September, and that the programme relating to it would eventually replace the current programme. Unfortunately, this target was missed and it was then set for January. However, January has come and gone and it has not been announced. There does not appear to be any alternative date yet for the test or the new programme to be available. At a meeting of the Joint Committee on Health this morning, officials stated that the delay in the roll-out of the new HPV test was due to a decision taken by the Minister and the additional backlog and workload that has resulted. Their focus now is to try to eliminate the backlog. Is this the case? Can the Government give a date for when the new HPV test will be introduced? The officials could not commit to its introduction in the entirety of 2019.

The funding was allocated in the budget and the HSE service plan in order to do it this year, although I appreciate that simply allocating the funding is not the same as making it happen. I am advised that the preparatory work for the switch is under way. Laboratory capacity planning is a key part of this and its finalisation is dependent on the conclusion of contractual arrangements with MedLab and the Coombe. This will allow the programme to determine the required capacity to be procured and will inform the timeline for the switch. Based on that information, it would be wrong of me to provide a date that I cannot necessarily stand over.

The Taoiseach gave a date last September.

I did so in good faith. Having learned from that experience, I am not going to give a date unless I have an assurance from CervicalCheck that the date can be delivered. What I can say is that the funding is provided and is in the service plan and in the budget, and the policy decision to do it is made.