The Legal Framework Group Report was commissioned as part of the HSE’s response to the Scally Review in 2018/19. It was also recommended in the 2020 Expert Reference Group Reports to review the legal framework within which cancer screening operates in Ireland.
The report gives recommendations on how screening is done and how people participate. These are based on current laws, so the public, medical, legal, and political views of screening (its benefits and limits) are clearly defined and understood.
The Legal Framework Group was chaired by Professor David Keegan.
It also included representation from:
- the Department of Health
- legal experts
- health ethics
- health economics
- Public Health
- patient advocacy
- NSS clinical directors
Report of the Legal Framework Group on interval cancers: Recommendations on the legal and ethical requirements for population cancer screening in Ireland (PDF, 501 KB, 44 pages).
Research reports
The Legal Framework Group commissioned research and advice in four areas: ethical issues related to population screening, the legal framework for screening and how it compares internationally, and the benefits and limitations of screening in terms of reducing death and illness.
- Ethical Issues in Population Cancer Screening Programmes: An Evidence Synthesis (PDF, 280 KB, 33 pages)
- Estimates for efficacy and likely impact of Irish cancer screening programmes (PDF, 854 KB, 40 pages)
- A Comparative Analysis of Legal Liability and Compensation in respect of Interval Cancers (PDF, 309 KB, 29 pages)
- Legal Advice on key Recommendations from the Legal Framework Group Report (PDF, 183 KB, 18 pages)