Professor Riste?rd ? Laoide:

The latest figures we have are from 2020. They are from the National Cancer Registry Ireland, NCRI, the organisation that produces the statistics for incidence and staging of cancers in Ireland. The preliminary evidence is that the numbers increased in 2021 so the shortfall is nothing like it was in 2020 but we do not have the figures for that yet.

The Deputy asked a question about upstaging. That is where people present later in their cancer which obviously has an impact on survival and outcome. We do not have the evidence for that yet but work is ongoing. There is anecdotal evidence from clinicians, from the clinicians here, that some patients presented with more advanced cancers. Having said that and having discussed with the National Cancer Registry, preliminary reports suggest that in an area like breast cancer where there was a reduction in the number of people coming forward, those who were not diagnosed were the early cancers and not the later cancers. That would be a good thing. We do not have the final data on that yet. The national cancer control programme, the NCRI, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Irish Cancer Society are looking at breast cancer, lung cancer and melanoma. We hope that later this year we will have the results on upstaging and its effect. Professor Hill might say something on breast cancer.