Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

Too many people in County Meath and County Louth are dying of cancer. I fully support the national strategy. There has been much talk about the Dóchas centre in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda which has provided a great service for people in counties Meath and Louth since it was founded. Many patients publicly and privately attest to the hard work and dedication of the staff concerned and the centre will continue to operate services. It will not close, as has been reported. However, what is regarded as a better service for patients for diagnosis and surgery will be available at Beaumont Hospital. Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda will continue to provide chemotherapy and palliative care for patients.

I would dearly love to see a centre of excellence located in Drogheda or Navan but if an insufficient number of operations are being carried out and an insufficient number of patients are being seen, who are we as politicians to tell the experts and the cancer societies that they are wrong? That is what the Labour Party and Fine Gael are doing locally. We cannot put votes ahead of lives.

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