Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

I am delighted to have the opportunity to broach once more the subject of cancer treatment and radium treatment for cancer patients in this country, particularly in the north west. It is entirely appropriate and timely that the first Private Members' Bill we have on the resumption of this new Dáil concerns the health services because every aspect of the health services is in difficulty at the moment. One could say it is in turmoil.

There is an embargo on recruitment, which will have a significant impact on the care and treatment of patients in our hospitals, particularly in Sligo. Contractual staff are being laid off. There is a headlong clash between the Department and the HSE and pharmacists in this country. Anything that interferes with the service provided by pharmacists will have an impact, particularly in rural areas where they are just trying to survive. There has been a cutback in hospital transport. In my constituency, a 90-year-old lady with a fractured hip and Alzheimer's disease must travel to Letterkenny General Hospital for a check up on her hip but no transport is available for her. This is another indication of what is going on in the health services and the reduction in home help.

We are specifically dealing with cancer treatment here this evening. The cancer strategy was laid out a number of years ago. On a number of occasions here, including Adjournment and other debates, I mentioned that as far as cancer services and radiotherapy services were concerned, the area north of a Dublin-Galway line was a vast barren desert. There has been very little improvement in the situation because there is no radiotherapy available in that area to patients, as Deputy Reilly already mentioned.

Donegal is a county with a population of approximately 140,000 people. Letterkenny General Hospital caters for the needs of the people of that county. In every year, there are 60 to 70 breast cancer cases, 70 prostate cancer cases and 70 bowel cancer cases in Letterkenny General Hospital. The operations are carried out in Letterkenny General Hospital, but when radium treatment is required, people's only option is to come to Dublin. Efforts are being made to set up something between ourselves and Belfast but that is not the answer to our difficulties in Donegal.

If one takes the north west — Donegal, Derry and parts of Tyrone — there is a critical mass of 500,000 people. It has been mentioned by the HSE and the Minister on numerous occasions that 500,000 people would be a critical mass, if I am allowed to use that term when speaking about radiation, to establish such a facility. I appeal once more to the Minister and her office to influence the HSE. I am sure it would listen to her opinion and her wishes that we should have something like that in the north west. As Deputy Reilly has already stated, there are women in Donegal who are faced with the choice of having radical mastectomies or radiation treatment and opt for the former because they do not want to be away from their families and environment — support which is so important when one is receiving such treatment.

I have not travelled that much since I entered this House 26 years ago but I had the good fortune last year to visit New Zealand. We met people there involved in the health sector. I believe the Minister was there herself, if my memory is correct, and left a very good impression.

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