An agreement has been reached between the HSE and a US laboratory to process the backlog of smear tests in the Cervical Check screening programme.
It follows weeks of uncertainty, with slides put into storage as there were no labs to process them.
The Irish Times reports the deal with Quest Diagnostics will ensure the survival of the screening programme.
The work will be carried out at four new sites in the United States.
Professor of Health Systems at the School of Human Sciences in DCU, Anthony Staines, says finding the expertise to process the backlog has been difficult.
"It's been very difficult, because it's hard to get the capacity to do cervical cytology, and it takes a long time to train people to do this task; it's really, really hard," he said.
