Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am really concerned by the latest progress report that states that only one of the 23 recommendations highlighted back in 2017 has been met. When we look at how cancer treatment is rolled out in other European countries, we are ranked mid-table for cancer survival. In some areas, we are going backwards due to the struggle with training, recruitment and retention of staff. Last Wednesday, the chair of the national strategy steering group attended the Joint Committee on Health. He outlined how pressures on emergency departments were impacting on the scheduled, time-sensitive surgery for cancer patients. At the same committee, the CEO of the Irish Cancer Society, Averil Power, called for multi-annual funding to be put in place. She pointed out the wait times for radiotherapy as one example of where we are regressing.

We are failing cancer patients by not properly funding this strategy. We need the Government to revise the health budget for 2024 and to provide for the strategy. We need to see a commitment to multi-annual funding. Sinn Féin is calling for an end to the recruitment embargo in the HSE, which is having a detrimental impact on patient care. We need an increase in funding that reduces overcrowding so that cancer services can focus on scheduled surgeries, in particular, and treatment more generally. We need to train and hire more professional healthcare staff to address staff shortages.

The people attending hospital to receive cancer treatment need a Government that is willing to put them first. This motion is giving the Government the opportunity to do just that.

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