Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I will take the Adjournment on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney.

I welcome the opportunity to set out the position on breast cancer screening services in County Clare. BreastCheck, the national breast screening programme, provides free breast screening to women aged 50 to 64 area by area. BreastCheck operates from four clinical units based beside hospitals - two in Dublin and one each in Cork and Galway - and a fleet of 15 mobile digital screening units that provide screening to women locally.

The majority of women are offered their mammogram at a BreastCheck mobile digital screening unit to make the service as close, convenient and accessible as possible for women. Factors that influence the choice of a site for a mobile digital screening unit include the capacity of the site to provide necessary utilities, including electricity, plumbing, access to toilet facilities and adequate space. It is preferable that a site can accommodate the unit for the length of time it takes to screen all eligible women in the area, which can be considerable.

BreastCheck uses a range of sites nationwide such as hospital or clinic car parks, civic centres, shopping centre car parks and the grounds of schools or colleges. Screening schedules involve months of careful planning and preparation to ensure women are screened in an organised and efficient manner, and BreastCheck has a duty to fully utilise its available resources at all times.

When BreastCheck was seeking an appropriate location for a mobile site to offer screening to women living in County Clare, it was advised by Clare County Council that planning permission would be required. No other city or county council has ever required planning permission for the temporary location of a mobile breast screening unit. Months of extensive negotiation between Clare County Council and BreastCheck followed.

To commence screening of women in County Clare while negotiations with the council continued, BreastCheck invited more than 300 women living in areas in north County Clare, including Abbey, Boston, Carran, Castletown, Cloghaun, Derreen, Drumcreehy, Gleninagh, Glenroe, Lisdoonvarna, Mountelva and Rathborney, for screening at the BreastCheck western unit in Galway.

Clare County Council has recently waived its requirement for planning permission. That means that BreastCheck can now commence the necessary preparations required to locate a mobile unit in the county. A suitable site has now been selected in the grounds of the county council offices in Ennis. During the coming months, BreastCheck will proceed with the necessary preparations to make the site suitable for delivery of a mobile unit to provide quality assured screening to women in the county. Screening of women is expected to commence in autumn this year.

It is BreastCheck's policy to publicly announce a screening schedule no more than three months in advance, as there is evidence that some women experiencing symptoms of breast cancer are likely to defer seeking a symptomatic referral from their GP and choose to wait for the routine screening.

However, any woman, irrespective of age, who has immediate concerns or symptoms, should contact her GP who will where appropriate refer her to the symptomatic services.

I am pleased that arrangements are now being made for the continued screening of eligible women in Clare, and that screening is expected to commence by autumn.

See this speech in context