Professor Gerry Hanna:

In terms of survival for all kinds of cancer, it is safe to say that we have made great progress over the past 40 years. Survival rates have increased from 25% in respect of all adult cancers at five years to over 50%. We want that figure to be over 75% in the next ten to 20 years, not just through mechanisms such as the Good Friday Agreement, but also research and improvement in the quality of care. What has the Good Friday Agreement done for cancer? It has given us an ecosystem of collaboration North and South. It has brought the world into Ireland through many mechanisms. We have had many guest speakers in Ireland and have built up collaborations with leading centres across Europe, the US, Australia and beyond. Those collaborations are important. They support us in delivering the best care to our patients North and South. They also help us to train the next generation.

As Professor Casey said, our trainees go abroad and we want them to come back and be active here in Ireland. Having a sense of connection and being able to function in Ireland is essential North and South. One of the great challenges of our time is the recruitment of the right people and ensuring we have expertise in all our clinical disciplines. If we do not support trainees in that way and have a global connection, we will not be able to do that. If we do not have research to enable an ecosystem of healthcare here, people will simply not come back to us.

It is very clear to me that we need support around clinical trials. As mentioned, the number of patients is growing but it is nowhere near enough and the cohort is a tiny fraction of the overall population. The benefits are tremendous, not just to patients but economically. As the report from Cancer Trials Ireland said, we save €31 million in the Republic alone in drug costs through patients taking part in clinical trials for an investment from the Government, through the Health Research Board, HRB, of only €1 million. That is quite a return by any measure. We need a lot more of that. As Professor Gallagher said, it is also important for the overall quality of care in our hospitals. Research-active hospitals provide better care. We want to deliver the best here. The Good Friday Agreement has connected us to the world and allowed us to have the aspiration of being global leaders in cancer and deliver the best care here.