Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

This has changed the experience of cancer. There is real hope for patients and families. The Government's focus is to ensure that there is access to services that deliver this experience for each and every person who is diagnosed with cancer. There is no doubt that this is a major challenge to our health services and a major disease, with 20,000 people diagnosed with cancer each year between 1994 and 2000. It is also a major cause of mortality and premature mortality, accounting for one quarter of all deaths. The burden that cancer places on the health services is reflected in the fact that there were almost 81,000 hospital discharges and more than 48,000 day cases with a diagnosis of cancer in 2002.

The report on the development of radiation oncology services was published in October 2003. Government has accepted its recommendations and has agreed that we now require a major programme to rapidly develop clinical radiation oncology treatment services to modern standards. The first phase of the programme will be the development of a clinical network of large centres in Dublin, Cork and Galway. The development of these centres is of critical importance and will, in the shortest possible time frame, begin to address the profound deficit in radiation oncology services identified in the report.

There has been significant progress in implementing the report's recommendations. There has been approval for the appointment of more than 130 additional staff and full-year current funding of approximately €15 million provided to open the new radiation oncology department in University College Hospital, Galway and to expand capacity at Cork University Hospital. This will enable the appointment of an additional five consultant radiation oncologists, for whom recruitment is under way.

In developing this model, radiation oncology centres will be required to provide services on an equitable basis that will ensure that patients of equal need will have equal access. Geography will not be a barrier to equal access. Radiation oncology centres at major teaching hospitals will be required to provide outreach services to hospitals in adjoining regions as is currently the case. As more consultant radiation oncologists are appointed, it will be necessary to ensure that there is an equitable spread of outreach services.

The Government has decided that in the future development of services, consideration should be given to developing satellite centres at Waterford, Limerick and the north west.

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