Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

All of my questions are for Ms Murphy. The first is about the national screening service for breast cancer. The witnesses will correct me if I am wrong but I understand that programme covers women from the ages of 50 to 69 and provides one mammogram every two years. Ms Murphy is indicating that is correct. There is good evidence that lowering the screening age to 40, as is the case in a lot of European countries, has an impact. In Sweden, since the programme was extended to cover ages 40 and up, breast cancer deaths have reduced by 26%. Is there a school of thought in Ireland that eligibility for the screening programme should be lowered to the age of 40? There is a lot of evidence for the benefit of doing do, particularly in respect of genetic mutations and for younger women. The evidence shows that extending the programme to cover women from the age of 40 would be much better for women who develop breast cancer.