Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children. She has asked me to assure the House that the Government is committed to making the full range of cancer services, including radiation oncology services, available and accessible to cancer patients throughout Ireland in accordance with best international practice.

As the Tánaiste advised the Deputy in response to his question on 22 June, the Government's plan is for a national network of radiation oncology services consisting of four large centres in Dublin, Cork and Galway, and two satellite centres at Waterford Regional Hospital and Limerick Regional Hospital. In order to ensure that the same standard and quality of care is delivered in the satellite locations, it is important that they be fully integrated with the main centres. The same clinical staff will work in both the main and the satellite centres. This will enable patients to receive the best possible diagnosis and treatment from multi-disciplinary teams covering surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It is intended that the service at Waterford will be linked to the existing radiotherapy facility at Cork University Hospital and that the service at Limerick will be linked to that at University College Hospital, Galway.

The capital investment involved in providing the national network is estimated at over €400 million, most of which is to be funded through a public private partnership. The PPP will be a single design, build, finance, manage and partially operate project. It is anticipated that the bundling of radiation oncology developments on a number of hospital sites into one contract with a large capital value will offer greater synergies and innovation, will transfer risk to the private sector and will ensure that all centres are compatible so that they can deliver integrated cancer care across the State.

There is a significant amount of work to be done in preparation for a public private partnership. Towards this end, the Department of Health and Children is working closely with the HSE and the National Development Finance Agency. The NDFA has assembled a team to progress the financial and procurement aspects, and the HSE has appointed a project manager to lead out on its input.

A clinical output specification group, which includes leading experts in the field, is well advanced in specifying the clinical aspects of the development. Technical advisers will be appointed shortly to advise on the construction and other technical aspects of the project.

The precise phasing of the development at Waterford and at the other locations will be addressed when the output specifications have been drawn up as part of the PPP process. The aim is to have the national network in place in 2011. This is an ambitious target but the Tánaiste is determined that access to radiotherapy services for people in the Waterford area will be enhanced at the earliest possible date.

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