The HSE says it'll take until October to clear the backlog of smear testing that built up while Cervical Check was suspended.
The programme resumed yesterday, 17 weeks after being stopped due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
It now includes a new, more accurate HPV test that aims to detect it sooner for younger women and those in at-risk groups.
The HSE's chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry says knock-on delays to testing will continue into next year.
