Mr. Richard Flaherty:

It is activity based and around footfall. This is monitored through the NCCP, which looks at the statistics every month. We submit statistics to the NCCP, which would allocate the funds. From my own perspective, we have two cancer support centres - one in Letterkenny and one in Galway - and prior to the €3 million funding the only allocation of funds for cancer support centres was section 39 funding. In its nature this funding is inequitable and is very ad hoc. There are some centres in organisations like ourselves that receive no funding through section 39, some centres receive a small amount, and other centres receive a significant amount. Even the nature of section 39 funding is ad hoc and unreliable, so we really feel there needs to be core sustainable funding for this sector. It cannot be left to fund itself. Our two centres cost €18,000 a week to run. Currently, we have had to rely on community fundraising, which is unsustainable into the future. The numbers coming through our doors have increased. Our stats from yesterday show that, for the first four months of this year, there was a 36% increase in the number of new cases.

We really feel that the €3 million is the first step on a journey and that €5.5 million would help us even more. We have more members with more needs and we need more resources in the centres. That is critical. The Minister and his Department acknowledge that. They acknowledged the work we did and the services we provide. The Minister also acknowledged that the funding model is not appropriate to support this sector. Our sector now is recognised in the NCCP. Our role in the cancer survivorship is acknowledged in the cancer strategy but the current funding model is unsustainable throughout the whole sector. We feel that €5.5 million in the context of a health budget of €23 billion is a drop in the ocean. The value for money that €5.5 million would give back to the Exchequer would be enormous.

This is related back to the patient. I always think of the young mother who was coming out of BreastCheck in Galway. She described herself as hearing cancer ringing in her ear. She got a bad diagnosis. The first port of call was to our support centre in Galway. Before she went home and before she could talk to her family, she came to the support centre and we supported her through her diagnosis, her treatment and her family after that. That role is replicated through support centres throughout the country. There is nowhere else for these people to go when they get that news. We are an important support to the patient and their family all through that journey. It is critical that this sector is now looked at independently and a fund is created to support it because the work we do on the ground is huge.

We talked about the reasons more and more people are accessing our services. The real reason is people trust us. It is also to do with conditions in the hospitals and the referrals. We are getting referrals because the hospitals also trust us. This is because we have a track record over a number of years providing evidence-based professional services to cancer patients and their families. Everyone in Ireland needs and deserves the best cancer treatment. We are currently playing a part in that and we just need some support.