Mr. Conor O'Leary:

Further to Ms Fort’s point, I refer to the risk. One-off funding is great, but what happens next year? It is difficult for us provide such high quality psycho-oncology and mental health supports to cancer patients if we can only plan, let us say, for this year, and then next year we are back to square one with a fundraising challenge. The evidence and research shows us that interventions and mental health and psycho-social interventions need to be provided at the time that the patient presents, particularly for children who are living with a diagnosis or living with a family member who has cancer. If they do not receive that support and if those issues are not treated at the time they present to their local centre, that will manifest and cost much more in future years – in their teenage and adult years. That is our biggest frustration. We are more than happy to provide these services.

We are willing and waiting and our centres are in place but we are limited by the scope.