John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)

I am disappointed, to a degree, by the Minister's answer. The statistics show that well over 2,500 men in Ireland are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, with deaths reaching well over 550 per year. Prostate cancer has become the most common male cancer in Irish men, one in 12 of whom will develop it. There is extensive publicity about breast cancer, but incredibly, the risk of a man getting prostate cancer is only 2% lower. Those are significant statistics. With the ageing population, it is predicted that there will be a 275% increase in prostate cancer by 2020. The statistics also show that early detection is crucial. More than 69% of men who have not shown any signs of prostate cancer, but in whom it is detected by the test, will survive. The prostate cancer charity recently estimated that two thirds of men who are at risk of prostate cancer do not know that the simple blood test is available. Is there funding for national screening and a national information programme? Many men are not even aware of the availability of the simple PSA blood test.

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