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Prof Grainne Flannelly, former clinical director of CervicalCheck, has told TDs she recommended against offering free repeat smears because of insufficient lab and colposcopy capacity, GPs wouldn’t be paid, and it would “fundamentally undermine the screening programme”. (1/2)
In a letter to the Oireachtas health committee she says she was only consulted about the proposal on the day it was to be announced - but DoH overruled her within an hour. She resigned later that day. (2/2)
Simon Harris told the Dáil last month that neither he nor his officials had “received advice that recommended against these tests in advance of the decision” - but that the concerns, when raised, “failed to recognise the circumstances of the unfolding crisis”. 
Should be noted, before things become rewritten, that Grainne Flannelly's resignation last year was widely welcomed because she was perceived as being (at least partly) responsible for the decision NOT to automatically inform affected women about smears possibly being misread
HSE tells Oireachtas committee (oireachtas.ie/en/oireachtas-…) that there is a backlog of approx 79,500 slides, and "it can take up to 33 weeks for the report to be provided" with an average time of 15 weeks
Qs from @DonnellyStephen and @loreillysf centre on whether HSE believes/accepts Harris WAS given advice to the contrary, before he announced free repeat smears... HSE largely sticking to political narrative of "this was a crisis" and not being explicitly drawn one way or another
🚨 Simon Harris has reasserted his position this morning to reporters - and insists he had NOT been given any negative feedback about the free out-of-cycle smears before making the decision to offer them...
...but the same assertions being raised in Dáil at Leaders Questions now
...but the same assertions being raised in Dáil at Leaders Questions now
Micheal Martin wants Simon Harris called into the Dáil to take questions on the contradition between his position, and that of Gráinne Flannelly...
"Those officials and clinicians were at the very centre of that scandal," says Varadkar, trying to remind the Dail that people were delighted to see the back of Flannelly when she resigned last year
Micheál Martin now asking Varadkar to make Simon Harris correct the Dáil record, seemingly on the premise that he misled the house with answers to PQs
