Ms Rachel Morrogh:

We have been running this research across the course of the pandemic to understand what the barriers are to people accessing healthcare. For the first time, just before Christmas, we saw that cost was going to be the biggest barrier for people making the decision about whether to seek medical care or not. That is hugely troubling for us in the Irish Cancer Society and, I am sure, for the committee as well. Sláintecare is there, it is our ten-year strategy. I heard Deputy Shortall on "Morning Ireland" yesterday talking about the difference between entitlement and eligibility. It is important that all of us are entitled to access care at the earliest point we can and that cost is not a barrier. We have been focusing on the fact that the costs are huge for people with cancer. They have a drop in income and they also have additional expenditure. It is a huge financial crisis for people. They end up in debt and borrow from family members. It is not just about the health consequences of this life-changing diagnosis, it is the financial impact as well, which has ripple effects across entire families. We want people to make decisions that are in their best interests when it comes to health. When they cannot afford it, it is an empty message from the Irish Cancer Society to go and seek help when people are saying they cannot afford to pay the electricity bill or to pay for their children's gym classes, for example.