Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have a few points. First, the point was made about the importance of the centres themselves and the fact there are only a handful around the country, which highlights the fact we need more of these type of centres. The main point the Alliance of Community Cancer Support Centres made in its presentation this morning is that there is a reliance. The State is relying on charities and on the voluntary sector, but there needs to be a certainty regarding the various centres.

I am aware of the centre in Tallaght. I do not think it is affiliated with the witnesses' centres, the Tallaght support group, and I would have been aware of it over the years. With regard to the likes of these groups, Senator Kyne asked a question about how people could get in touch. It is based at Tallaght University Hospital, and it used to be based in Tallaght village. You would see, when you are going in for treatment, that there is a sign there and the support is there, who to contact and that.

The most important point for anyone listening at home is that there is life with cancer and there is life after cancer. The witnesses’ figures say that there are 50%-plus survival rates from ten years ago. That reflects the fact that there is so much groundbreaking work going on in the area. We would have had cancer groups in and they would have been quite critical that some of the new drugs that have become available that have not been passed here. I think there have been something like 23 new drugs in the past two years, which sounds great, but you are talking in terms of the amount of drugs that are out there that can be life-changing for people.

I have had cancer twice myself so I have been through the system. I know what it is like to be told that you have cancer, and to be told a second time that you have it, and the challenges you face. I have seen grown men and women cry going in for treatment, terrified of the idea of , say, getting the likes of radiotherapy and so on. Given the number of people who have approached me, and again, I am reflecting on what is probably happening in the witnesses' own centres, to talk to someone who has had it and who has been through it is really positive. I presume the common denominator from the witnesses' own centres is that there are people who have had it themselves or their family members have had it. The positive message is that there are supports and there is help there.

It is so overwhelming when you are told, with the amount of information you are given. There are things that you are supposed to do. Everyone is asked at some stage, if they are going in for, say, chemotherapy, what medication they are on. They will probably ask the person and the person will look blankly at them. The partner will ask. A simple thing can be to take a photograph of the medication you have. It can be that simple. There are all of those things. If people engage with the centres, there are people who have been through it and there are people who know the system. It is simple things like if you are asked to change padding or a bandage, or if you are someone who has never used an incontinence pad. You might be embarrassed to ask someone else but there are supports there, and they are simple, everyday things people can learn to do. If you can talk to someone who has done it or been through it, I think it is much more simpler.

I do not really have a huge number of questions. The funding issue clearly does not make sense. If we are talking about, as a State, our medical services relying on voluntary organisations, we have to fund them. One of the concerns that some organisations have come to us about is the new gambling regulation. I do not know if that is a concern for the witnesses. If it is a certain amount of money or if you are raffling a car, for instance, that is going to be a challenge under the new regulation. I understand the problems with addiction and so on but we need to be much more inventive with regard to how we can support organisations like those represented here. The witnesses are not the only ones who come in here. We constantly have organisations that will say to us that there is a plan in place but they do not have the funding or supports.

Is there anything the witnesses would ask us as a committee, in the next couple of minutes that we have? What is their final ask on this? Again, we do not have much powers but we will have the Minister, the HSE and the Department in on this. The witnesses have outlined their story. They might explain to us exactly what psychosocial support is, not necessarily for me or the members but maybe for the people listening at home, and the types of services. If I walk into one of their services, what exactly will happen when they meet someone on the desk? Will the witnesses talk us through the ABC of it? I presume it is common across all of their organisations.