Minister for Health Simon Harris has urged people to continue to avail of bowel cancer screening following a report that cites 13 probable missed cancers at Wexford General Hospital.
An external review is to be conducted into the programme at the hospital after aHealth Service Executive recall of 615 patients who attended the hospital identified the probable missed cancers.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Mr Harris said the news is devastating for the 13 people who thought they were well, adding that it is his job to ensure it never happens again.
He said the cases have been identified to one single clinician and the external review will look at all practices to make sure that every quality assurance is in place.
Mr Harris also said that he would not like "the importance of the bowel screening programme to be in any way forgotten" during this "sad and distressing situation".
Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald told the Dáil this afternoon that the review would examine the governance, accountability and authority at the hospital.
Ms Fitzgerald said the external review will take six months to complete.
Dee Fiztpatrick, whose father Pat was one of the people involved in the patient recall at the hospital, has welcomed the publication of the report.
Mr Fitzpatrick was one of the 13 people subsequently diagnosed with cancer.
Speaking to the News at One, she said her father has been through a "very difficult two years."
In relation to the hospital's response, she said: "They acknowledged it was a missed cancer and we received an apology."
She said it is key that systems are now in place so that it hopefully it will not happen again.
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Earlier, the chair of the Health Service Executive Safety Incident Management said there was no issue of equipment failure with regard to the probable missed cancers.
The cases relate to the care provided by one consultant, between March 2013 and November 2014, in relation to colonoscopies, which are bowel checks.
Dr Orla Healy said an issue was not identified with any other endoscopist at the hospital and that the matter has been referred to the medical council.
Dr Healy said the report findings stand that these are "probable missed cancers" and that the rates that they observed were over and above what would have been expected.
She said that notwithstanding the fact this issue has occurred the service is operating to the highest standards possible.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said: "It is never possible to determine 100% whether or not a cancer was there at the original screening and this is recognised internationally.
"What's important to highlight in this case is that the review is complete, that everybody affected by this incident has been recalled, has been managed, has received the appropriate investigation and treatment and that we're now at the stage where we're publishing the report into that look-back review.
"The report has made important findings, it has made recommendations and notwithstanding the fact this issue has occurred, the service is operating to the highest standards possible having implemented many of those recommendations and is in the process of implementing the remainder of those recommendations."
She said it was important that people have confidence in the bowel-screening programme and take up the opportunity when they are offered a test.
In Ireland 1,000 people die a year because of bowel cancer, she said, and the aim of the programme is to reduce that number. She said in the first two years of the bowel screen programme in Ireland, 500 cases were diagnosed.
Dr Healy said that people need to have "absolute confidence" in the quality of the service and that it is operating to the highest possible standards.
She said when the issue arose it was appropriately reacted to.
