The HSE's agreed a new deal with Quest Diagnostics for additional capacity, that it says will ensure the continuation of the Cervical Check screening programme.
The company will examine the slides at four different sites in the United States.
Meanwhile, the backlog of 55,000 tests will be dealt with at the MedLab Pathologies facility in Ireland.
The backlog developed after the Health Minister Simon Harris guaranteed free out-of-cycle tests for women in the wake of the Cervical Check controversy last year.
