Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

The treatment of cancer is but one of many crises erupting almost daily in the health service. To name but a few, there are serious problems with waiting lists and critically ill patients lie on trolleys for days; patients are being misdiagnosed; there is a scandal over hospital bugs, including MRSA; there are cutbacks in essential services such as the home help scheme and services for the disabled; and there is a nursing home scandal. The litany of failures is almost endless. The availability of cancer treatment concerns us most.

Cancer is the health scourge of the 21st century and it is the most unwelcome illness of all. Unfortunately we can expect it to come knocking on our door sooner or later. Very few families have not been affected directly or indirectly. It can be devastating to be diagnosed with cancer. In this regard, I need only mention the late Nuala O'Faolain and how she reacted to her terrible diagnosis.

However, we all agree on one point, that the best possible treatment should be available for those who are struck by the dreadful disease. There is general agreement that centres of excellence are the best way forward in providing treatment. The Government's policy in designating centres of excellence is fundamentally flawed in that it lacks geographic balance. It is a spectacular oversight to leave almost half of this country without even one such centre. North of the Dublin-Galway line, there is a barren desert as far as the strategy is concerned. There will be no centres of excellence in that region. Even worse, there are definite plans to dilute the already existing cancer services in places such as Sligo. That part of the country represents almost 20% of the State's population. On a per capita basis, the region should be entitled to two centres of excellence.

Not alone is the north left without a centre of excellence but the BreastCheck programme has not yet been extended thereto. Although the Minister announced more than a month ago expenditure of €10 million on digital mammography services, it is unbelievable that BreastCheck has not yet been made available in the north west, including Donegal.

I welcome the decision to have a satellite unit in Letterkenny General Hospital under the responsibility of the Galway centre of excellence. However, I urge the Minister to ensure the facility is provided immediately. All those in south Donegal are dependent on the cancer treatment facilities in Sligo General Hosptial. An excellent service, in terms of diagnosis and treatment, is being provided under the wise guidance of Professor Tim O'Hanrahan. The people of south Donegal are shocked and opposed to any reduction or withdrawal of cancer services in Sligo General Hospital. They want the services to be retained and enhanced. There is no reason Sligo should not have a satellite facility associated with Galway in which to deliver treatment.

Our aim should be to provide treatment to patients as near to their homes as possible. The designation of Galway as a centre of excellence for all the west will create a logistical nightmare. Transport from the north to Galway is completely inadequate. There are no train or air services and this makes matters extremely difficult for patients suffering from cancer. As other Members stated, the circumstances in Galway create further difficulties in that basic facilities such as parking spaces are not available. All of these factors lend support to having an additional centre in the north west.

There is a complete absence of radiotherapy services in north Donegal and this represents the remaining gap to be filled. I made one of my regular visits to St. Luke's Hospital last night. Before I entered at all, I met three patients from Donegal, two male and the other female. The latter was a 34-year-old mother whose children were at home, yet she was spending seven or eight weeks in Dublin.

Negotiations are taking place at political level between North and South and I urge the Government and HSE to bring them to a conclusion as soon as possible. Patients from my part of the country should not have to travel 200 miles for six, seven or eight weeks. The service they require should be provided in their own region.

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