Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

We are funding and organising cancer services to ensure that patients from every region will be benefit equally from top quality cancer care. Using more specialised care in the major centres is the way to achieve this. That is what all the experts indicate and all the evidence shows that. It is vital that cancer specialists treat a sufficient number of cases to maintain and grow their skills. That has been pointed out in a number of reports published during the last six or seven years.

We are again this year making a large allocation available for cancer control, screening, acute services and research. The increase in investment this year is almost three quarters more than the comparable investment for the previous year to support the implementation of the national cancer control programme.

The HSE and the Department of Health and Children are also working on the means to implement the national plan for radiation oncology services to meet the timeframe. The Deputy will be aware that the timeframe for the rolling out of that programme nationwide is another four years. The Deputy raised this issue with me previously. It is considered by all the people involved in the programme that it will not be rolled out any faster than that. It will take until some time in 2011 to roll out radiation oncology services on a national basis.

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