The Taoiseach says he was "surprised" to read comments made by the clinical director of CervicalCheck, which he says were "not acceptable."
Micheál Martin was speaking after Dr Nóirín Russell apologised for comments she made in December 2020 when talking to Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín.
Dr Russell was recorded saying that some women who went to the CervicalCheck tribunal were doing so to "get money" when they knew there had been no wrongdoing on the part of the service.
In a statement, Dr Russell says the comments she made then were "careless and hurtful" and do not represent her views today.
Speaking to RedFM News, Taoiseach Micheál Martin says the women who went to the tribunal had legitimate reasons to do so.
"From a clinical perspective I don't doubt her competencey.
"I don't agree with what she has said in her private conversation with Peader Toibín, I don't agree with that.
"I don't accept the view that people were going to the tribunal to do so on the basis that it would be better to get compensation.
"There were legitimate issues with quite a number these and the manner in which certain screenings were done, there's no doubt about that."
Meanwhile CervicalCheck campaigner and one of the founders of the 221+ group says campaigners are open to re-establishing good relations with the HSE and CervicalCheck.
Stephen Teap received an apology letter from Dr Russell on Saturday ahead of the publication of the story containing her 2020 comments on Sunday.
He has described the apology letter as an attempt at “damage limitation” and says the HSE need to acknowledge that mistakes were made at CervicalCheck.
"The screening programme to us is very important, because we know that if it worked correctly the damage that it did to all of our members, to my wife, to our family, would never have been done.
"This is why it's very important for us to ensure we have a properly run screening programme that is built on a sound foundation of trust.
"A reset button needs to be hit at this point. The Government apologised to us a number of years ago, acknowledging what Dr Gabriel Scally said - the HSE has never done that. The HSE, Paul Reid, needs to step out in front now and needs to acknowledge exactly what went on for the first time, and that there was wrong done. This is the only way we can move forward."
