Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this debate. I speak, as Deputy McManus noted, as a representative of a constituency where breast screening has not been rolled out. If it had been rolled out according to the original timetable which envisaged its introduction in 2005, I would be one of 12,976 women in County Limerick who would be screened this year, the constituency also represented by the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Tim O'Malley. According to the statistics provided by BreastCheck, approximately 30 of that 12,976 women could expect to have early detection symptoms, had the implementation in County Limerick proceeded. However, the roll-out of the programme has not taken place and as it appears that we must wait until 2007, we will not be screened and will not know whether we have early symptoms of breast cancer which could be detected by BreastCheck. It is extraordinary that women in the west and south should be obliged to live with this. If the screening programme was in place, we would know if we were safe.

Our lives are as important as the lives of women in other parts of the country and there is a deep anger in this region that the issue has not been given the priority it deserves. Many other issues have been prioritised by this Government in a time of wealth in our Celtic tiger economy. However, despite the fact that this programme was planned and announced many times by the former Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, it has not happened, as Deputy McManus noted. We are now expected to wait until 2007, which is not good enough. It is not good enough for someone like me, with no reason to believe that I might have breast cancer. However, it is particularly unacceptable for women coming from families with a high incidence of cancer, for women who have an internal fear that they might be one of the 30 women who could be detected this year in County Limerick. I speak for County Limerick, as my other colleagues will discuss the statistics in other areas, where if cancers were detected at an early stage, women would have a very good chance of complete recovery. This is how serious the issue is and why people are so angry that the programme has not been rolled out in accordance with the timetable.

We listen to an advertisement on radio featuring Marian Finucane which tells women to be tested, that it is a positive thing with nothing to fear and that early detection is vital. However, at the end of the advertisement, she states that this only applies if one lives in the eastern or midland regions. Women in our region listen to this advertisement and come to us as public representatives to ask why they cannot be included in the screening programme. We listen to it on national radio and yet it is not available to us. On the other hand, people know the statistics from Northern Ireland for example, where breast cancer has been reduced by 20%. We are aware of the statistics and the value of the service but it is not available to us.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, has been in office for nearly six months. However, she has not seen fit to further this programme to any great extent. As far as I understand, it is a question of resources. There is no reason why the headquarters buildings in Cork and Galway could not have proceeded at this stage, or could not have gone ahead during Deputy Martin's tenure as Minister. It was simply a lack of political will to deploy the resources to ensure that women in our regions are screened for breast cancer. This is what is most unacceptable. It is quite clear from reading the reports of BreastCheck that it was willing to proceed and had the internal resources and skills to do so, if given Government resources. Clearly, it was a matter of political decision-making and we will not accept any further delay. It is not sufficient to make announcements every six months or year that the programme will be implemented when it still has not been.

Women in these regions will not be satisfied until we see the screening buildings and programmes up and running and we will no longer tolerate any delay. The campaign referred to by Deputy McManus in which the Labour Party is involved will continue to escalate until such time as we see real progress. Good government is about making decisions that matter to people's lives. Unfortunately, in this case, we do not see good government and we will not tolerate it. We will continue to campaign until such time as BreastCheck is rolled out throughout the country.

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