Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests and congratulate them on the tremendous work they are doing all over the country, including in my own constituency at the Little Way Cancer Support Centre in Clane, County Kildare, which has done tremendous work over the years. The secret to the centres' success is that they are community-based and that they arose out of necessity. From the beginning, it was recognised by those who would start the voluntary organisations that there was a need for counselling services, a need to respond to the cries of help from people who were diagnosed at an early stage and a need for professional services, which is what the Little Way Cancer Support Centre has provided. As has been said, it is a difficult thing to manage all of these services on the basis of voluntary contributions but voluntary contributions can help an association with year-on-year support, whether large or small.

I am also concerned about the number of instances of cancer in young people that I see from casual observation. I presume it is as a result of Covid - obviously it is - but it is frightening. The need for the services is so much greater than it was, especially among young women. A huge number of young women seem to be diagnosed with and affected by cancer and, unfortunately, passing on as a result of it. The need that was originally and initially there is greater now than it was, as is the need for voluntary services, which are a soft form of support to people who find themselves in a vulnerable position at a given time. The centres are to be congratulated for that and for carrying on the service through thick and thin in the recent past.

My query relates to the €5 million from now on that was talked about. Presumably, the centres will look for that to be an annual event, with increments, as time goes by because, as I see it, the need will increase. It has been suggested that there will be a drop in cancer cases in the coming years. Be that as it may, right now, there is a very serious demand that needs to be met. The centres would be well supported in seeking assistance in line with the demand as it now presents itself. As I said, that is based on casual observation of the number of people I know with cancer. We all know the number of people who are passing on and dying of cancer, which obviously arises from Covid. The frightening part of it is the number of young people, and young women in particular, who have it. I ask that particular cognisance be taken of that aspect of the demand as we move on into the future. Do the centres have plans to recognise that and to expand the services they have available?