Alan Kelly
Ceist:344. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health if he will provide all correspondence between his Department and BreastCheck from 2017 to 22 September 2019. [39410/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 1 October 2019
Ceisteanna (344)
Freagraí scríofa
BreastCheck currently provides screening to women through a network of static and mobile units. Screening is offered to eligible women by personal invitation on a two year cycle. The objective of the programme is to provide an effective screening service to the highest possible quality, so that the maximum number of breast cancers can be detected at the earliest possible stage. The programme is part of the National Screening Service within the HSE. It would be expected that correspondence between BreastCheck and my Department would encompass a wide range of issues, including for example funding, service developments and service updates but also ongoing engagement on general service issues and on, for instance, representations and Parliamentary Questions received in my Department.
While the precise extent of correspondence between BreastCheck and my Department is not presently quantified, it can be anticipated that the volume would be significant. From a practical perspective, it would not be possible to arrange for the search, retrieval and compilation of the full extent of correspondence within the normal timeframe for response to Parliamentary Questions, nor to review the documents from the perspective of compliance with data protection principles.
I will be more than happy to respond to a request from the Deputy for specific information in relation to BreastCheck.