The HSE have confirmed that all women will have to wait at least 20 weeks for their smear test results.
In announcement made this afternoon the HSE National Director Damien McCallion, told the Public Accounts Committee the increased waiting time comes as there is a backlog of around 80,000 smears to be processed.
It is understood that the waiting period has increased by two weeks after a high number of women have presented for a repeat smear test following the recent CervicalCheck scandal.
The HSE say a number of factors have also attributed to the backlog including women who haven’t previously engaged in the programme and those who have concerns about their previous test.