However, she said she felt there was “something wrong” with the cervical screening programme that needed to be identified and addressed.

A report from the Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) found that results from the Southern health trust may not have been accurate.

Up to June of this year, 175 applications had been approved under an ex-gratia scheme concerning the non-disclosure of the CervicalCheck audit

Mr Justice Paul Coffey said in the tragic circumstances of the case he exhorted the parties, which includes the HSE and laboratories to bring the talks to a successful conclusion.

Irene Teap died aged 35 in July 2017, after being diagnosed with stage 2 cancer in September 2015: She had received negative smear test results in 2010 and 2013.

Dr Nóirín Russell is said to have made the remarks about women making claims against the service in a recorded conversation some two years