Emer Higgins
Dublin Mid-West · Fine Gael · Ireland
“With regard to the background, and as the Senator has touched on, this project was designed on the basis of a 30-year operational lease, with the primary objective of delivering value for money over the lifetime of that lease.”
“Regarding the specific situation in Castlebar that the Senator has raised, Tusla has indicated that following careful consideration, including extensive negotiations, which he referred to, and legal mediation with the developers, it was unable to reach an agreement.”
“They came forward, often at enormous personal cost, and continued to seek answers and accountability when the very systems that should have protected them had failed. For many survivors of child sexual abuse, the abuse does not end when it stops.”
“The strongest projects are those that invest in feasibility studies, site assessments, stakeholder engagement and detailed design from the outset, because decisions made at the earliest stage often have the greatest impact on cost, quality and operational performance.”
“As a result, it made a significant uplift on its original offer. The additional increase sought could not be justified, however, when benchmarked against comparable projects across both Tusla and the HSE. That comes back to the value-for-money argument.”
“Justice Michael White for their significant work and acknowledge how deeply distressing the findings are. They reveal repeated missed opportunities, ignored warning signs and systemic failures that allowed abuse to occur over many years. Children who should have been protected were instead left vulnerable.”
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“However, releasing this kind of advice may lead to the revelation of possible legal risks or vulnerabilities that could be leveraged in actions against the State or see strands of costly litigation against the State seeking to exploit potential legal vulnerabilities. That would not be in the public interest. The statutory regime governing ethical behaviour in public office at national level is provided under the ethics Acts. The 2025 programme for Government contains a commitment to update the ethics in public office legislation and work is ongoing in my Department to meet this programme for Government commitment. It is important to note that, in the meantime, the Attorney General is currently subject to the provisions of the ethics regime.”
“It is well recognised that legal professional privilege enables open, candid and confidential communications between a client and their lawyer, which is a cornerstone of the administration of justice. The Attorney General in their advices will often draw attention to risks or legal vulnerabilities with a policy proposal or a Bill. Of course, the risks or vulnerabilities will have been examined before a Bill reaches the Houses. As Deputies would expect, every effort is always made in the development of policies and legislation to remove or reduce to the minimum the extent to which the State, and the taxpayer, may be exposed to risk and litigation.”
“The next issue of privilege is a proposal to not allow a claim for legal professional privilege to be made in relation to advice from the Attorney General in order to explain a position that has been adopted in relation to the passage, defeat or amendment of a Bill or resolution in either of the Houses. It has been the long-standing policy of successive Governments, consistent with professional practice in respect of legal matters, that detailed legal advices provided to the Government by the Attorney General are provided in confidence and remain confidential. The Government, as the “client” of the Attorney General in receipt of advice, is entitled to the same professional privilege as any other client in receipt of legal advice.”
“To seek to do this in an overly prescriptive and inflexible statutory rule carries with it the risk of damage to the State’s ability to litigate properly in the public interest. The Deputies mentioned a number of concerns in their contributions. As one would expect, the litigation principles refer to the need to act honestly, avoid legal proceedings where possible, minimise legal costs for all parties, not take advantage of the less well-resourced litigant and apologise where the State has acted unlawfully. These are among the principles that were devised as State litigation principles in 2023.”
“While it is simply not possible to prescribe in advance how to act in every conceivable situation that will arise in complex and high-stakes litigation on behalf of the State, the litigation principles serve as guidelines for the conduct of litigation in accordance with high standards of ethics and integrity. The litigation principles provide a more suitable approach for the State in this context than an inflexible statutory regime and they do not alter the reality that the State has, and should have, the same entitlements as any other litigant in respect of litigation. The 15 litigation principles inform how the State views public interest in the context of litigation.”
“They set out how the State can and should behave in its capacity as a party to a given dispute before the courts. The litigation principles, in clarifying and explaining existing best practice, assist officials in the different Government Departments, and the lawyers acting on their behalf, in upholding the high standards already expected of the State. They also assist in explaining the approach of the State to litigation and foster a better understanding of how the State serves the public interest when litigating. The litigation principles, when they were introduced in 2023, were not intended as a radical departure or change from what was done previously but, instead, represented a distillation of feedback and existing best practice.”
“Since this Bill was originally put on the Order Paper, the Government has approved the adoption of State litigation principles which serve as guidelines in the conduct of litigation by the State. The 15 litigation principles recognise the imperative that the State should act in the public interest, broadly construed, in pursuing and defending litigation and should consider the broader public interest before taking certain procedural steps in litigation. The litigation principles apply where the State, through the Government, a Minister of the Government, a Department or an agency under its direct control, initiates or engages in litigation. These principles clearly articulate standards for the State and its lawyers in the conduct of legal proceedings.”
“Regarding the public interest, the Bill, if enacted, would be counterproductive to the efficient work of the Government. Duplication arises in a number of areas, for example, the State litigation principles, the programme for Government commitment to update the ethics in public office legislation and the delegation of functions by the Attorney General to a deputy or assistant attorney general. The Bill seeks to introduce a number of inflexible provisions seeking to unnecessarily regulate matters relating to the Attorney General’s remuneration, private practice and practice at the Bar, many of which are already addressed appropriately in a non-statutory manner.”
“To summarise the purpose of the Bill, as set out in the explanatory memorandum and by Deputy Bacik, its principal purpose is stated to be to provide a mechanism for both acknowledging and accommodating public interest concerns in State litigation. Another purpose is to ensure that claims of legal professional privilege are not made in relation to the advice of the Attorney General referred to and relied upon by the Government in explaining its policy approach to Bills and resolutions in the Houses of the Oireachtas. The final principal purpose is to introduce the Attorney General into the regime of codes of conduct for office holders that are provided for in the Standards in Public Office Act 2001. I will address each of these three points in turn.”
“I thank the Deputies for giving me the opportunity to discuss the Government’s position on Second Stage of this Private Members’ Bill, the Ministers and Secretaries (Attorney General) Bill 2023. At the outset, I remind Deputies, as Deputy Bacik has done, that the Attorney General is a constitutional officer appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Taoiseach under Article 30 of the Constitution. Their role is to be the adviser of the Government in matters of law and legal opinion. The Bill contains provisions that risk significantly undermining these relationships. They could also undermine the Office of the Attorney General and the Attorney General’s capability to properly defend litigation on behalf of the State.”
“That is what I want to see as Minister of State. I want to make sure that we are using our public procurement process to make Ireland a more competitive place and to give our SMEs a bigger slice of that pie while always protecting our transparency and having value for money at the core.”
“By doing this, I will also look at social clauses and environmental clauses, which Deputy Nash mentioned, and we will shortly be bringing new green public procurement guidelines to Cabinet. That will be in the next month or so, I hope before the recess. They are with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, at the moment and we hope to get them through because we need to make sure we are doing as much as possible in digital, green and social and also when it comes to transparency and value for money. Ireland has implemented EU regulations on e-forms and that captures much of the information this Bill seeks to. The European Commission’s focus is, like our own, on the simplification of the current complex legal code and a reorientation of procurement to act as a tool for steering investment and increasing competitiveness.”
“This brings obligations, but it also brings huge opportunity. Public procurement has significant potential to support SMEs and, with that, regional development and the wider economy. The awarding of a public contract can act as a springboard for emerging micro-enterprises and SMEs to expand and export. I was delighted to meet some of the SMEs in that boat in recent months. The Department continues to work to ensure value for money is at the heart of all decision-making. That is not partisan and does not relate to the side of the House you sit on; it is what the Government is committed to doing. I am keen to use this strategy to explore ways to promote efficient and effective public procurement that achieves the best possible value for money for the people of Ireland.”
“Deputy O'Reilly also spoke about collective bargaining, as did Deputy Nash, and employers' rights. I take that on board. Some of that was already provided to us through our public submission. Deputy Nash talked about how we can use public procurement to drive better outcomes for SMEs. As I previously served in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, that is something I am keen to do. That is why I have gone out and met SMEs and taken advice from the SME procurement advisory council. We also have the new public procurement advisory council within our central bodies, which is also providing that information to me. We are getting advice from both the SMEs and public buyers, which is important. Every year, as has been said, billions of euro are spent by the State on goods, services and works.”
“While the Deputy's experience may be different in different local authorities, from what I have seen, they have been really engaged in this. I am pleased with that. From a data perspective, on the points the Deputy made around key performance indicators, KPIs - whether it is delivered on time and on budget - I agree we need to see more happening in this space and that will be part of what happens through our data collection and our national procurement strategy. Deputy O'Reilly mentioned the benefits of Committee Stage of Bills. I absolutely agree. However, the EU is now revising its directives, so if we go to Committee Stage and make whatever changes we make to the language of the Bill, we will still be left in a situation where the Bill may contravene EU legislation when it is enacted. That is a clear concern.”
“Before I do so, I will respond to some of the comments made on the floor of the Dáil. I will start with Deputy Farrell's remarks on social clauses and local authorities. I assure the Deputy that I am engaged with the Local Government Management Association, LGMA, and I have directly met three of the four procurement officers in the three Dublin local authorities. I have also met local authorities while I have been doing roadshows up and down the country and I remain open to meeting more. I have been taking on board the feedback they are giving me from the ground. They are the people telling me that they are very mindful of the social clauses and they are pushing for more and more clarity on what social clauses mean.”
“I thank Deputies for their engagement on the Bill and in particular Deputy Farrell who worked on it. It has been useful to have the opportunity to discuss public procurement on the floor of the Dáil, important considerations for it and how the Government can ensure better services for the people who come here to live and work and who are born and live here. It is important that we make sure that public procurement is in the best interests of all our citizens. Public procurement is a key priority for the Government. It is vital to ensure we deliver better public services for everyone. As Minister of State with responsibility for public procurement, digitalisation and e-government, I will take this opportunity to close by sharing with the House my vision and ambition for public procurement.”
“It is expected that Ireland will in due course participate in the PPDS initiative which will further increase transparency of public procurement.”
“The data that the Bill seeks is already being captured under the European Commission’s implementing regulation 2019 for eforms, which are digital standard forms used by public buyers to publish notices on Tenders Electronic Daily, which is the official tendering platform for the EU. The primary purpose is to enhance transparency. The secondary purpose is to capture the data the Deputy mentioned. That is why we badly need them. I have further information, which I am sure can be read into the record, on eforms but I will conclude because time is against me. The Commission continues to evolve these eforms as part of the longer term strategic objectives within the European Public Procurement Data Space, PPDS.”
“We will be using those ideas and the lived experiences of SMEs and central purchasing bodies to help shape Ireland’s first ever national public procurement strategy and I hope the Deputy agrees that it is important that those views are reviewed and responded to in terms of being included in the strategy before we implement new legislation in this space. A clear ask from that consultation was the removal of red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy. That leads me to our third area of concern, which is that this Bill appears to duplicate current regulations on data capture. The duplication of legislation or of requirements is something we would like to avoid, in terms of the businesses that have been in touch with us.”
“Deputy Farrell made a submission to the consultation for the strategy, setting forth her plans for her Bill, which would allow me to produce a report for all contracts above a given threshold and that this information would be connected to other freely available public registers, thus improving the overall interoperability of the system. I thank her for making that submission. There are some really good ideas in there. It was one of 143 submissions we received and my officials are reviewing those in addition to the feedback we received from our regional workshops, which gave us the opportunity to delve into those issues in more detail.”
“Therefore, a collaborative and unified cross-government approach is required to join up the use of public procurement to achieve greater value for money - not just price and sustainability but also the social clauses the Deputy mentioned, economic well-being and resilience. The public consultation for the strategy was launched in March and ran until recently. We also held three strategy roadshows in Dublin, Cork and Athlone, which were attended by a variety of stakeholders including public bodies, industry bodies, utilities, suppliers, social enterprises and SMEs from across the country. Key themes consulted on included strategic public procurement, transparency, informed delivery, digitalisation and value for money.”
“The programme for Government identified developing Ireland’s enterprise base as a focus over the next five years, from backing small businesses and start-ups to scaling up indigenous firms. The role that public procurement can play in this is emphasised by the Government’s commitment to review the public procurement process to ensure greater participation from SMEs, including micro-enterprises and social entrepreneurs. This is why the Minister, Deputy Chambers, and I are leading on the first ever national public procurement strategy. It will set out the strategic direction of public procurement over the next five years. While public procurement can be a key lever in bringing about wider Government and societal objectives, it is not the primary lever.”
“This highly complex framework will need careful consideration and extensive consultation with the Companies Registration Office, the Department of justice and the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment in order to understand the impact and extent of the proposal. Further consequential legislative change may be required. The requirement for contracting authorities to report on contract performance for all above-threshold competitions will be burdensome and would raise the potential for legal challenge, particularly if these reports are to be used in relation to access to future competitions. The Government is already progressing programme for Government commitments to increase transparency and embed sustainable - including green and, as the Deputy specifically called out, social considerations - in public procurement.”
“Furthermore, there are limitations on access to trust information held by the Revenue Commissioners and restrictions would also apply if such information was to be provided to the registrar of companies. The section also provides for the provision of information by an examiner of the High Court in relation to public contracts involving a person who is an undischarged bankrupt. It should be noted that section 132 of the Companies Act prohibits an undischarged bankrupt from being a director, a secretary or otherwise involved in a company unless he or she has the leave of the court.”
“There are in excess of 320,000 companies on the Register of Companies and it is considered likely that the majority are not engaging in public procurement with the State. Accordingly, only a small cohort of those on the register are likely to come within the scope of the Bill. Section 8 also provides for the provision of prescribed information from the registrar of beneficial ownership of trusts. This information is held by the Revenue Commissioners and a matter for the Department of Finance but it should be noted that what is being proposed appears to involve a duplication of effort in that such information would also be maintained by the registrar of companies.”
“The registrar of companies has extensive functions under the Companies Act 2014 in relation to the incorporation of companies; the registration of a range of post-incorporation documentation throughout the company lifecycle; the enforcement of the Companies Act 2014 filing obligations of companies and the making available of company-related information to the public. All of the information filed with the Companies Registration Office is company specific and filed individually in respect of each company. As the fundamental role of the Companies Registration Office is the maintenance of a central repository of statutory information, as required by the Companies Act, it is not considered appropriate or desirable that the registrar have any function in relation to public contracts.”
“It is important that the implementation of EU regulations becomes more effective, striking the right balance between sufficient regulations to protect consumers and EU citizens while allowing our firms to innovate. The Bill has far-reaching effects beyond procurement, as it seeks to amend the Companies Act 2014. Section 8 of the Bill seeks to create an entirely new framework whereby the Registrar of Companies will be given a new, as yet unclear role in relation to public contracts and disqualified persons. This will require the sharing of information on all public contracts within the scope of the legislation and introduces new requirements whereby the Courts Service, the Registrar of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts and the Examiner of the High Court will be obliged to report to the registrar of companies.”
“Therefore, Deputy Farrell’s Bill would seem premature to this ongoing process. There is the potential that by the time the Bill is enacted, it may contravene the new EU directives. It also has the potential to add to the complexity of the public procurement regime, which is against the trajectory of the European Commission and its intended reform of the public procurement regime in response to concerns on falling competitiveness in the public market, a deregulatory environment in Brussels and a desire to match public expenditure through procurement to the strategic needs of the EU. I welcome the continued focus on simplification of EU regulations to boost EU competitiveness and to provide legal certainty to businesses.”
“Following the impact assessment, the Commission intends to publish the draft legislative proposal in early 2026 and has indicated it wants the legal process completed by end of 2026 or early in 2027, which may fall under Ireland's Presidency. At present, it is difficult to see how this ambitious timeline will be met, and the revision of the legal framework will extend beyond these current parameters. Work is already under way by the EU Commission that will impact on reporting requirements, eForms and the public procurement data project and it may also introduce conflicts with the current EU legislative framework. It is imperative that any domestic legislative proposals do not conflict with the current or future EU binding legal requirements on reporting in public procurement. Further consideration of such legal issues is required.”
“The provisions of this Bill in respect of data gathering and reporting might not align with this “once-only principle”. As mentioned, the Bill pre-empts the European Commission’s revision of Directive 2014/24/EU. The Commission has commenced the evaluation phase of the revision process, which has been ongoing for several months, and the Commission is focusing on competition, cost benefit, internal and external coherence of the legal framework governing procurement, relevance and EU added value, as well as transparency and integrity. The evaluation will be followed by a regulatory impact assessment of the proposed legal text.”
“These regulations are SI 284/2016, that is, the European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016, which I will hereafter call the 2016 regulations. It should also be noted that in October 2017, Ireland signed up to the Tallinn declaration on egovernment. A key aim of this declaration is to create a more efficient digital public administration across Europe. This marks a new political commitment at EU level on significant priorities towards ensuring high-quality, user-centric digital public services for citizens and seamless cross-border public services for businesses. The “once-only principle” provided for in this declaration sets out that citizens and businesses should only have to provide information to public administrations once, with data being reused across different services.”
“Regarding the potential impact of the Bill when it comes to law, the Bill’s scope is related to that part of public expenditure which is covered by the EU procurement rules, deriving from Directive 2014/24/EU. However, that directive covers the procedures to be followed in relation to the award of a public contract and not the terms or the performance of the contract itself. The Bill therefore is erroneous in seeking to extend a legal application to give further effect to the terms of that directive into aspects outside of and beyond the provisions of those directives. There is no corresponding reference in the title of the Bill to the statutory instrument which transposed provisions of the EU directive into Irish law.”
“Hence, a timeframe of at least 24 months for the deferral is required for the legislative process, for when the EU directives become national law. In relation to the data elements of the Bill, Ireland has implemented EU regulations on eForms. which are electronic public procurement notices. They already capture much of the information the Bill is seeking to introduce. I will focus now on three key areas in making the case to the House for the deferral of the Second Reading for 24 months. The Bill has the potential to contravene EU law and second, there are concerns over amendments to the Companies Act 2014. This Bill would pre-empt the new public procurement strategy and would duplicate current regulations on data capture.”
“The 24-month deferral is necessary to allow for consideration of the complex legal issues in the Bill and to allow time for the European Commission to have completed its revision of the public procurement directives. The previous revision of the 2004 directives commenced in 2012 and was not completed until 2014. We do not know how long it may take for the European Commission to look at its revisions but it looks quite likely that Ireland may well - as I said in the committee yesterday - hold the pen on this, as this may happen while Ireland has the Presidency in the second half of next year. Once the directives have been made, time would then be needed to be allowed for the Office of the Attorney General to review the legal text for transposition into EU law.”
“From building roads and power stations to purchasing pharmaceuticals and securing waste-collection services, efficient use of public resources contributes to better delivery of services. Public procurement also serves as a significant policy instrument, which Governments can use, as the Deputy said, to propel changes in public service delivery, to create jobs, and stimulate private sector growth in a balanced way. A well-performing public procurement system increases citizens' confidence in Government and private sector competitiveness, especially by levelling the playing field for small- and medium-sized businesses, including micro-enterprises, start-ups and social enterprises. I thank Deputy Farrell for her work in this space, which I know has been based on a shared desire to achieve better outcomes when it comes to procurement.”
“Third, because - and I hope this is good news - a lot of what is asked for in this Bill is actually already happening through eForms and I will speak a little bit about that shortly. In addition, there are some legal concerns with the language in the Bill, in particular with definitions and I can elaborate on those. That is why I am asking that my officials be given two years to work at EU level to review and update legislation at a national level to transpose directives into Irish law and to finalise and implement our first ever national public procurement strategy to shape the future of public procurement in Ireland. As Members know, public procurement is a fundamental, crucial component of democratic governance, of economic well-being and of sustainable development.”
“I have tabled a timed amendment to the Deputy’s Private Members' Bill, primarily for the following three reasons. First, because a review of public procurement directives is happening at an EU level and it is imperative that our national legislation is in compliance with EU directives, and indeed with our own legislation such as the Companies Act 2014. Second, because, as the Deputy mentioned, we are in the middle of drafting our first ever national public procurement strategy and I firmly believe that any new national legislation needs to be drafted in the context of the feedback we have got from our public consultation. I thank the Deputy for her submission to that consultation.”
“I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “That” and substitute the following: “Dail Eireann resolves that the Transparency and Social Value in Public Procurement (Bill 2024) be read a second time this day 24 months, to allow for consideration of the complex legal issues in the Bill and how they interact with the Companies Act 2014 and the EU’s eForms (electronic procurement notices) Implementing Regulation; and also to allow for the European Commission to have completed its revision of the Public Procurement Directives, which the Commission have timetabled to commence in early 2026; and for such considerations to be taken into account in further scrutiny of the Bill"." As the Minister for State with responsibility for public procurement, digitalisation and egovernment, I thank Deputy Farrell for giving us the opportunity to discuss public procurement on the floor of the Dáil Chamber.”
“I have no doubt that the Department of education is working hard to make sure that the school building to which the Senator refers is added to that list shortly. I thank the Senator for raising this matter and for giving me the opportunity to answer on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth. I assure the Senator that the Department is conscious of the need to continue to support the operation of the school system in County Kildare and will be in contact with the school and its patron as soon as the tender process is completed.”
“I absolutely hear the Senator on this. She wants to know when students will be able to walk into the school. Unfortunately, I cannot answer that today. We must make sure that the tenders that come in are valid and are awarded correctly. Then the construction phase must be entered into. I am sure that is something the Minister will keep the Senator informed of. Certainly, the Department will work closely with the school management to make sure that happens in as timely a fashion as possible. The Department continues to support the delivery of an extensive school infrastructure programme. Since 2020, the Department has invested in the region of €5.9 million in our schools throughout the country. That has involved the completion of over 1,350 school building projects.”
“The design team is currently reviewing the tenders received and will forward its report to the Department, with its recommendations, for review and approval. Once the Department has the review, it will then be in contact with the design team and the school to progress the project. I understand the urgency of the matter for Senator O'Loughlin and the people she is dealing with, in particular to get phase 1 up and running. I hope she can see that progress is evident.”
“Following the submission of the information, the local authority made an initial decision to grant planning permission, with conditions, in October 2024. The initial granting of planning decision was appealed to An Bord Pleanála and the design team received An Bord Pleanála's decision to grant planning permission in early February of this year, just a number of months ago. Senator O'Loughlin mentioned that the project is currently at the architectural planning stage - stage 3 - tender action and award and it is a priority project for delivery by the Department. The Senator also mentioned the ADAPT programme, which is all about accelerated delivery. The design team issued the tender to the Department's design and build framework of contractors, with a return date of May 2025, just last month.”
“As the Senator outlined, the brief for this project is to provide a new permanent school for the Curragh Community College. The project is designed to be delivered in two phases. Phase 1 will deliver accommodation for 425 students and phase 2 will deliver the remaining accommodation to provide for a long-term projected enrolment of 1,000 students at the former Magee Barracks site in County Kildare. Senator O'Loughlin outlined that the design team lodged its initial application for planning permission for the preferred design option with the local authority in October 2023. There was a substantial request for further information, RFI, from the local authority in respect of the planning application.”
“I thank Senator O'Loughlin very much for raising this matter, which provides me with the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth and to outline to the Seanad and the Senator's constituents the current position on the major building project at the Curragh Community College in Magee Barracks in Kildare. As she outlined, this project is a very important school building project for Kildare. She spoke about schools in Kildare town and Newbridge being under pressure and the extra capacity this school will provide and how welcome it will be for the area. For that reason, this project is included in the Department of Education and Youth's construction programme, which will be delivered under the national development plan, NDP, as part of the Project Ireland 2040 framework.”
“Every year, 250 women in Ireland are diagnosed with cervical cancer and, sadly, around 90 lives are lost to this disease. It is something the Government takes very seriously. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is very passionate about it. Ireland is on track to eliminate cervical cancer in just 15 years, by 2040. That will be remarkable progress that will save lives. Cervical cancer, as we know, is among the few cancers that can be effectively prevented with vaccination and cervical screening. This is why it is so important that we continue to advise people to take part in these screenings, where it is appropriate for them.”
“In Sarah's case, it sounds like she has had that medical advice and that appears to have been very clear. The advice from the Department is very clear, that this should be doable. I am happy to raise this directly with the Minister on the Senator's behalf. If she wants to follow up with additional information, I am happy to take that too. The Senator will get a copy of the full and formal response, but that is the piece I think is most relevant, and diverges from the experience outlined by the Senator on the floor of the House today.”
“I am concerned by that because the official advice is it should be possible to opt out of this. To give a little bit of background to it, the Department has been quite clear that, if a woman has had a hysterectomy, in some instances cervical screening may still be advisable. It is not that in all instances, if someone has had a hysterectomy, they should be, ought to be or may wish to be removed, and that it does come down to clinical advice that has been provided. Therefore, the national screening service will often ask a woman to confirm with her gynaecologist at the time of her hysterectomy, in particular if it has had to do with cervical cancer, if she has any residual cervical tissue. Sometimes that needs to be monitored and that is often a reason women may wish to and may get medical advice to stay on the screening register.”
“I thank the Senator for raising this really important issue. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for Health and I have been provided with a script which I am sure will be provided to the Senator. I am quite concerned because the situation the Senator has outlined does not tally with some of what is in here. Let me read what is in here in relation the Senator's very specific question about opt-out procedures. What the Department has advised is that the national screening service advises that any woman may remove herself from the cervical screening register if she wishes to discontinue her participation in screening and she is not required to provide a reason. This can be done by letter, email, phone or by completing the opt-out form. That sounds different from Sarah’s experience as outlined by the Senator.”
“To give an update on that, it does at this point sound like this will be ready in the second half of 2026. That is going to give us an opportunity to expand the footprint in Cork as there is need and indeed demand, as the Senator outlined. That investment shows the Government’s commitment to providing Cork with a world-class passport service. I hope that timeframe is welcome news for the Senator and Councillor Rory Cocking.”