Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

That is what the experts advise. Perhaps in a couple of years there will be new advice. I know that when Professor O'Higgins advised in 2001, he recommended 12 or 13 centres. By 2007, that figure had gone down because the evidence evolving suggests that rather than 100 new breast cases each year, a hospital should have 150. The evidence is changing all of the time. The challenge for us is to make sure our cancer strategy can keep pace with the changes in order to guarantee quality for patients.

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