Wider concerns by the Health Service Executive's National Screening Service about the Government plan to offer free repeat testing to women over the CervicalCheck crisis are revealed in new documents obtained by RTÉ News, under the Freedom of Information Act.
Correspondence from the National Screening Service to the Department of Health, dated Monday 30 April last year, warned that given the volumes, it could mean that patients with low grade diseases, potentially being treated before those with high grade.
It said that "due to the re-screens waiting times will be under pressure with women having to wait longer for treatment."
The correspondence also expressed extra concerns about how free repeat screening would be "damaging for programme and patient confidence."
It said this was because women with a negative smear test, who have shortly afterwards a positive smear, under the repeat free test, would likely believe that their first negative smear was inaccurate, when this may not be the case.
The screening service suggested a maximum time limit of six months be put on the offer to women who wish to have a repeat test.
It said that GPs and Well Woman clinics were likely to be inundated with women seeking a test and the ability to cope with such large numbers was of concern to the programme.
Screening was offered until the end of December last year and a backlog of around 80,000 smear tests built up among laboratories, after 57,000 women sought repeat testing.
Last month, emails from the screening service dated Saturday 28 April 2018, released at the Oireachtas Health Committee, revealed concerns about the turnaround times for the testing laboratories, if free screening was introduced, as well as other risks.
Minister for Health Simon Harris has previously said he never received any contrary advice in relation to the provision of free repeat testing, before that decision was made.
He has said that after the decision, some in the CervicalCheck programme did express some concern.
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A statement today on behalf of the minister said that the screening service set out its concerns in an email to the department, after the decision for free repeat screening had been announced.
It said that the concerns set out were already identifiable and would have been sufficient reason why such a step would never have been taken in the ordinary course of operation of the screening programme.
"But these were unique circumstances, which were reflected in the level of queries forthcoming from women," it added.
It said that around 112,000 consultations were provided by GPs, which meant that about half of the consultations resulted in a smear test.
Fianna Fáil health spokesperson Stephen Donnelly said that the Freedom of Information material was the latest evidence that the Government was warned very close to the time of its decision not to proceed, by the most expert people in the country.
He said that ministers and governments have to make tough decisions but at this point they should say they were advised not to do it, but did it anyway and it was the wrong thing to do.
Mr Donnelly said the priority now must be to clear the backlog of tests.
Labour's health spokesperson Alan Kelly said that it was deeply concerning that the minister had more information regarding making the decision on free screening.
He said that ultimately there was a need to ensure HPV testing comes in soon.
