Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Since 1997, cumulative funding totalling more than €47 million has been allocated to the Health Service Executive north western area for the development of appropriate treatment and care services for persons with cancer. Cancer services in the north west are provided in Letterkenny General Hospital and Sligo General Hospital. In the former, cancer services are provided by a team of consultants comprising four consultant surgeons, one consultant medical oncologist, one consultant haematologist, one palliative care consultant, three consultant pathologists, six consultant radiologists, two senior pharmacists who specialise in oncology drugs preparation, a range of specialist nursing staff and one consultant radiotherapist three days per month.

An 11-bed oncology ward was recently completed, which is supported by an oncology day case area, breast care suite and clean air pharmaceutical preparation room.

A formal multidisciplinary breast care team meets and reviews all breast patients each week. Other teams meet to discuss cases as required.

Sligo General Hospital has a dedicated inpatient oncology unit, comprising 15 beds. The hospital also has a dedicated day services unit, with an oncology day services area comprising eight beds. A consultant haematologist was appointed in 2004. In addition, the hospital manufactures its own cytotoxic oncology drugs in a state-of-the-art clean room facility. The hospital has a full range of diagnostic tools including a CAT scan and a magnetic resonance imaging, MRI facility.

The HSE north western area has a regional consultant in palliative medicine, with a second post recently approved by Comhairle na nOspidéal. This second post will cover Sligo, Leitrim and south Donegal while the existing consultant in palliative medicine will cover Donegal.

Last year, the Tánaiste announced the Government's approval for a national network for radiation oncology services to be put in place by 2011, which will commence in 2008. The network will deliver a substantial increase in current radiation oncology capacity by providing additional capacity to the equivalent of 23 linear accelerators nationally. The network will consist of four large centres in Dublin, Cork and Galway and two integrated satellite centres in Waterford and Limerick, conditional on their adherence to certain quality assurance measures.

Patients in the north west are currently being referred for radiation oncology treatment to the radiation oncology department at University College Hospital, Galway, and to St. Luke's Hospital, Dublin. A consultant radiation oncologist from St. Luke's Hospital, Dublin, visits Letterkenny General Hospital three times per month as part of the multidisciplinary care of cancer patients. A consultant radiation oncologist with significant sessional commitments to Sligo General Hospital has recently been appointed to University College Hospital, Galway, which also provides radiation oncology services to patients in the north west, mainly to Sligo, Leitrim and south Donegal.

The Government considers that in the short term, the best option in terms of improving geographic access for patients in the north west is to facilitate access for those patients to radiation oncology services as part of North-South co-operation on cancer. The Tánaiste has agreed with the Minister for Health for Northern Ireland, Mr. Shaun Woodward, MP, that the new Belfast cancer centre will treat patients from Donegal. The option for people in Donegal. to attend for radiotherapy treatment at either Galway or Dublin will continue to be available.

In respect of the Belfast development, a number of discussions have taken place at official level involving both Departments, most recently on 20 February. Both Departments have requested the co-operation and working together initiative, CAWT, to ensure the timely and effective delivery of the ministerial agreement. There is a considerable political, departmental and service commitment to delivering on this agreement. It is important that this initiative succeeds as it will support further co-operation in health care, including cancer care. To ensure effective delivery, it is essential to have the support of medical consultants, patients and representative groups locally. I know how passionately the people of Donegal feel about this issue. The Tánaiste has worked extremely hard in this regard.

As for furthering the consideration of a satellite in the north west, the first priority is to deliver access for cancer patients in the north west to Belfast City Hospital as early as possible and thereafter to build on positive working relationships to deliver on this commitment. The issue of a satellite centre in the north west will continue to be furthered as a joint initiative involving bilateral discussions at departmental and political levels.

BreastCheck is preparing for the expansion of its screening programme for women aged 50 to 64 years in the south and west. Some €28 million in capital funding has been made available to provide static screening units and five mobile units. Screening for the western region will be provided at the static unit in Galway and by two mobile units. There is a screening population of 58,000 women in the west, including 10,500 in County Donegal.

The Tánaiste recently met representatives of BreastCheck. They are fully aware of her wish to have the programme rolled out nationally as quickly as possible. For this to happen, essential elements of the roll-out must be in place, including adequate staffing, effective training and quality assurance programmes. Additional funding has been made available this year for early recruitment and training of staff.

While there are a number of other matters with which I wish to deal, my time is short. In respect of breast disease services, the Department has been advised by the Health Service Executive that agreement in principle has been reached between Letterkenny General Hospital and Altnagelvin Hospital on a model of co-operation in the provision of breast cancer services.

In addition, my colleagues, the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Gallagher, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Coughlan, as well as Deputies McDaid and Keaveney have met the Tánaiste recently to further these issues.

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