Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is more time for us. It is fantastic to have all the witnesses here, not just to reflect on the success of the consortium since 1999 but for us to assist them in their realistic ambitions for the future. I thank them for that. The more they talk, the more we learn. My questions are probably more about prompting them to share more rather than being prescriptive.

This engagement is a major reminder that the biggest killer we face is cancer and non-cardiovascular disease. Over the past 18 months, Covid has shown us what we can do and what we can achieve. I am fully behind a fully integrated approach to cancer research in addition to, as the witnesses have outlined and written about, the research culture, a common research framework attracting key industries to Ireland on an all-island basis and what they describe as the birth of a new biotech industry, which are all very interesting and are part of this ecosystem of innovation we should be very much behind.

The revised memorandum of understanding probably did not get as much attention as it should have just because Covid has dominated so much. It shows the power of that transatlantic relationship and of working together on an island. It is a pity we could not work together more on Covid.

Politically, we must accept that, work around it and do our best. We all knew that we were held back in a way in not being able to approach it on an all-island basis. Perhaps the witnesses will give their reflections on that and also provide more specific information on the adverse impact Covid has had on their work.

I was very interested in Professor Gallagher's comment that "Cancer patients treated in research-active hospitals, particularly those with strong academic links, have better outcomes than those who are not." My mother had very bad cancer of the mouth about ten years ago. She is still with us but she was not expected to survive. Every day, I thank the staff of St. James's Hospital for the work they did. What more can politicians do to bring academic strength to hospitals? In respect of university places and enterprise, what can we do to foster the talent we need North and South? We speak frequently about medical cases in Northern and Southern universities.

In his article Professor Lawler mentioned the Cancer Moonshot in the United States. I am not sure what that is so perhaps he will tell me because I find it fascinating.

Professor Lawler works with the all-island hospice and palliative care in St. Francis Hospice in Blanchardstown. I do a lot of work with the hospice and I am interested in finding out what work he is doing with it and the institute.

In what other areas of the health can we learn from this work? We have seen the benefits over the past 20 years. Ms Mulroe spoke of the training provided by the National Cancer Institute in Washington and its impact. She noted that Northern Ireland has the best survival rates for breast cancer and has made improvements in bowel cancer outcomes, that 35,000 patients have accessed cancer trials and that quality of life has been delivered. The organisations represented here are doing something right. How else can we make this work and how can we support them?