Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

We have taken on 70 additional consultants in this area. We need to maximise investment in state-of-the-art facilities, with full multidisciplinary teams. Professor Keane is due to take up his post on 19 November. He is expected to quickly designate national clinical leaders in the areas of radiation, surgical and medical oncology. Arrangements are in hand to enable him to take control of all the new developments relating to cancer services from 1 January and, progressively, to assume responsibility for all existing cancer services and related funding and staffing. He intends to designate the locations for a range of cancer specialties from among the eight centres in early January. I hope he will be allowed to do so, particularly because everyone will be seeking these specialties for their facility. He will, therefore, be changing, as soon as he arrives, into detailed planning to facilitate these designations. On the orderly phased transfer of services between locations, the HSE plans to have completed 50% of the transition of services next year and to complete up to 90% of it by the end of 2009.

As Deputy Kenny is aware, the Minister for Health and Children approved a national quality standard in respect of systematic breast disease services under last year's Health Act. That standard requires significant reorganisation of breast cancer services to ensure that each centre providing such services serves a population of approximately 300,000 to 350,000; manages a minimum of 150 new cases each year; allows for a minimum number of new cases, 50 per year, to be managed by specialists — breast surgeons; ensures that such care is provided by a team made up of a surgeon, a radiologist and a pathologist; and has a minimum of two nominated consultants in each of these specialties. All of the other initiatives in this area were set out last year.

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