Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I have looked at population screening as regards another area in which I am interested in pursuing when we can. Any population screening is always done on a gradual basis for a host of reasons. One cannot move from a situation where there is no population screening for a particular type of cancer to one where the entire population is covered in a short period of time. That is not to say that perhaps things could not be done quicker. However, this is the reality.

BreastCheck did not get subsumed into the HSE. It is an autonomous body with a board of directors. I asked it to look at the proposal from the Galway Clinic which had been sent to me and the Department has discussed matters with BreastCheck. It is a matter for BreastCheck to assess whether the proposal meets its requirements and it has concluded that it does not. I have to accept that.

I was criticised earlier for encouraging the private sector. Here I am being criticised because we are not giving business to a private independent operator. I want to see it rolled out as quickly as possible. That is why we made the funding available. We also need to see cervical screening rolled out. That is in only one pilot project at present and I hope it will form part of the new contract with general practitioners since it clearly can be done at primary care level. Again, this is an area where early detection can bring about fantastic results, which Deputy Cowley knows, as a doctor. I am committed to ensuring that we put the resources in place to do that as part of the new contract of employment.

The roll-out will begin next year. Clearly it will take time before everybody in a given catchment area is called. I know the response rate to BreastCheck is about 70%, which by international standards is apparently very good. However, this means that about 30% of those called do not respond. We should all do everything we can to encourage people. I meet people from time to time who receive a letter and take the view that they prefer not to know. Yet we know there can be fantastic results if cancer is detected early. I would encourage everybody who is called to respond and to go for the mammogram. It is a wonderful service, and I hope we can have it in place everywhere before long.

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