Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me to contribute to this important debate on the national cancer strategy and cancer services generally. This is a very emotive issue for some people. Sensible and clear heads are needed if we are to solve the problems in this sector. That is why I welcome the appointment of Professor Tom Keane. It is important for politicians to make decisions, in line with best practice, in the interests of patients. I welcome the decision to develop eight cancer care centres. In particular, I welcome the inclusion of Beaumont Hospital, which is in my constituency, in the list of the centres. It cannot end there, however. All the people need to unite if a quality service is to be delivered. When I speak about "all the people", I refer to cleaners, nurses, doctors, consultants, other staff, Deputies, councillors and everyone else who has a genuine interest in our health service. We all need to work hard. It is not up to somebody else to deliver on this issue, we all have to do our bit to ensure patients are put first, at the top of the queue.

We need to plan for the future. The number of people with cancer will double over the next 15 years, mainly for demographic reasons. There are 120,000 cancer survivors in Ireland at present. They comprise 3.3% of the population. These issues are covered in my agreement with the Taoiseach. He recently signed an agreement that deals with these matters. I also welcome the decision to allocate €15.9 million in grants and services to the people of Dublin North-Central in recent months. The matters which comprise the broader issue are covered in section 5 of my agreement with the Taoiseach. I warmly welcome the provision of €415 million for the implementation of the national plan for radiation oncology, which represents a serious investment in cancer services. I welcome the additional funding of €15 million that has been provided for cervical cancer screening. Those moneys have been provided in 2008 to meet the cost of the roll-out of the screening programme. An additional 30 posts have also been approved. In real terms, this means that a service can be provided to cater for 240,000 people per annum.

During this debate, we should remind ourselves of the need to consider what is good for patients. We should remind everyone that good practice needs to be top of the agenda. Scoring political points will not improve the health service. Work has begun on the major issues which need to be resolved. We need reform, investment and change that is good for the people of this country. Part of that change involves supporting the efforts of Professor Tom Keane to reform the health service. The other part involves supporting the development of the eight cancer care centres. I urge all Members of the House to vote to ensure we will have a top class health service of which we can all be proud.

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