Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to discuss a matter of significant importance to the lives of the women in my constituency in County Clare. I have put a considerable amount of effort and time into the issue over the years, including during my time in the Seanad. My Seanad colleagues and I sought to have the BreastCheck service rolled out along the western seaboard. For some time prior to that, it had been available on the east coast. A number of colleagues, including former Senator Margaret Cox, championed that cause to ensure that women in the west of Ireland would have the same access to the same level of cancer prevention screening as those on the east coast.

As the Minister is aware, the breast cancer screening programme under the auspices of BreastCheck was set up for the west of Ireland, to be headquartered at University College Hospital , Galway. It was proposed that it would have a number of static units - one in Galway and one in Cork - and a number of mobile units carrying sophisticated equipment. Those would visit the various counties, of which Clare would be one, on a frequent basis to carry out breast screening among the identified target group of women aged 50 to 64. At that time it was estimated the service would be available to approximately 8,000 women in that target group in County Clare.

In 2007, significant advances were made when almost €27 million of capital funding was provided to construct the clinical units at Galway and Cork, and to procure the eight mobile units and the associated state-of-the-art digital screening equipment. That came on-stream, with a major announcement by the Minister in December 2007, in a 12-month period. It was expected at that time that the service was to be rolled out in County Clare in the following ten months. At the same time, €15 million of additional revenue funding was provided to cater for the national roll-out of the entire programme.

Unfortunately, the roll-out of this vital service throughout County Clare has not yet taken place. I accept that a small number of women from the north Clare area have been called to the static unit at University College Hospital in Galway. However, the rest of the county is still waiting. The area with the greatest density of population is not covered.

I urge the Minister to tackle the problem with the agency that has been tasked with rolling out the service at the earliest possible opportunity. Women from the north of County Clare to south-east Clare - from Meelick to Miltown Malbay and back to Doonbeg, and from Whitegate to Loop Head - have the same entitlement to the service as women throughout the country.

I recognise that BreastCheck does some good work, but that is cold comfort to the vast majority of women in County Clare to whom the service is not available. There have been changes in the way in which the health service has been configured in County Clare. The mammography unit at Ennis was closed and, despite some initial protest, it was accepted that the national cancer control strategy, which included the development of centres of excellence at Galway and Limerick together with the roll-out of the BreastCheck programme, gave the best possible outcome for patients. The women of the county accepted that, but they are left waiting for that third component, which must be part of an integrated strategy for the control of cancer in our society.

A number of women in the north Clare area have had the use of facilities since August 2009. It was suggested that during the preceding ten months, there would be a complete roll-out of the service for the rest of the 8,000 women in the county. That has not happened, and I understand that even at this stage a site has not been identified for the location of the mobile unit. I look forward to what the Minister has to say, and I urge her and her Department to put a bit of pressure on our friends in BreastCheck. The organisation has, as I said, done some good work, but that is cold comfort to the lives of so many people who await that vital service.

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