Margaret Conlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. The best possible protection for women is for us to ensure we fully implement CervicalCheck, the free screening programme for cervical cancer which is available since September 2008. In addition, we must continue to invest in the development of top quality cancer care treatment at the eight designated centres. As the Minister said in the House last night, we do not have a good record of cancer care outcomes except in child cancer. The reason for this is that child cancer care is centrally located in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. The Government's main consideration, therefore, has been to invest in the implementation of multidisciplinary teams to care for cancer patients. Fragmented cancer care does not serve the public well and we are all agreed that we want better outcomes for cancer patients.

CervicalCheck will cost some €35 million this year and an additional €25 million next year. The impression being peddled by the media and between the lines of the speeches by Opposition Members is that there is no preventative programme against cervical cancer. That is wholly untrue. International experience has shown that a screening programme is the most important step in prevention, before proceeding to the introduction of a vaccination programme. Genital HPV infections are passed primarily through sexual activity. Accordingly, the risk factors include early sexual activity and the existence of numerous sexual partners. Smoking has also been shown to be a contributory factor. The Government can and will do a certain amount but there is also an onus on the individual to minimise the possibility of developing HPV infections because all cervical cancers develop as a result of such infection. The cervical check will provide free smear tests to the 1.1 million women living in Ireland aged between 25 and 60 years. That is welcome, as it is rare for women under the age of 25 to get this form of cancer. The objective is to identify the women before they develop the cancer, and the smear test has the ability to identify pre-cancerous cells.

It is far easier not to make a decision. While the Opposition and the talk show hosts, who think they are governing the country, deplore the Minister and accuse her of many things, such as allowing 50 girls to die, being devoid of emotion and lacking in compassion——

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