Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"—strongly supports the National Cancer Control Programme which aims to ensure that all patients have the best possible outcome from their diagnosis and treatment, regardless of where they live;

notes that the programme was developed on the basis of extensive international evidence which shows that cancer survival rates are greatly increased when patients are treated by teams of experts in dedicated centres that deal with a high volume of cases;

endorses the approach taken in the programme that cancer survival must be the priority in treating patients;

notes that under the programme patients will usually only require a single visit to the specialist centre for their initial diagnosis and a second visit for their surgery, and will continue, as at present, to receive follow-up chemotherapy treatment at their local hospital;

welcomes the appointment of Professor Tom Keane and his team of clinical leaders to implement the programme;

welcomes the support of leading cancer specialists and non-governmental organisations, including the Irish Cancer Society, in the development and implementation of the programme;

notes the improvement in 5-year survival of many cancers in Ireland and reaffirms its confidence in the National Cancer Control Programme as the best way to achieve further progress for cancer patients; and

urges all concerned with achieving better outcomes for cancer patients to work together to achieve the goals of the National Cancer Control Programme."

I will be sharing time with the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews.

This debate is about cancer services. The diagnosis of cancer is a terrible experience for individuals, their families and for their friends. In Ireland 22,000 people are diagnosed each year with cancer and 7,500 people die. One in three of us will get an invasive cancer during our lifetime. What are we saying to those cancer patients? We are saying that we want to offer them in the first instance the best possible diagnosis when they get cancer and the best possible care the country can offer. We are also saying to them that in offering them the best diagnosis and care, we will use the best evidence available to us to deliver that.

I was asked earlier who devised the plan, A Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland, which was adopted by Government. There were 23 people involved in devising this plan, 17 of whom were doctors. There were patient representatives from the Irish Cancer Society and other groups that support patients who have cancer. They drew on the best expertise in Ireland and the best international expertise. They brought to Ireland the man known as the cancer tsar from the UK, Dr. Mike Gibbons, and many other specialists from around the world. Using the best evidence available to them they advised the Government to have eight centres, one per 500,000 people. The Government adopted the plan in advance of the general election even though many people claimed it would not be popular. To be fair to the Opposition, both Fine Gael and Labour supported it and welcomed it. The only question they had about it was whether it would be adequately resourced.

That is the plan we are now implementing. The evidence is not my evidence or the evidence of the Government. Tonight we are talking about breast cancer. There are 250 different medical publications from all over the world by the world's leading doctors who have treated patients that prove that if a woman is treated in a centre that deals with at least 150 new breast cancer cases a year and if a surgeon is dealing with at least 50 individual cases a year, that woman's chances of recovery are improved by 20%. That means the difference between four women surviving and only three women surviving. That is compelling evidence.

Deputy Reilly referred to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, which I have visited. He stated it has approximately 2,500 cases a year, which is true and is the same number of breast cancer cases we have in Ireland. He went on to say that it is going to have three or four different centres for 2,500. We will have eight centres for 2,500 and we are being criticised for that.

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