Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for facilitating us as we raise this critical issue and I also thank my colleague, Deputy McEntee, for contributing. I feel strongly about the issue. BreastCheck should be extended to people aged between 65 and 69. These people could be our wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a relative or a female friend. The current BreastCheck scheme, which includes people up until the age of 64, works very well, and it is in the programme for Government that it would be extended to people aged between 65 and 69. Currently, women aged between 50 and 64 are invited for a free mammogram every two years but as my colleague mentioned, there is one in ten incidence of breast cancer in women aged between 65 and 69. I have already raised the matter with the Minister and I have written to the chief executive of the HSE, Mr. Tony O'Brien, about the matter. As Deputy McEntee stated, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to extend the initiative. HIQA made a similar recommendation in 2010.

Screening saves lives by catching cancer early, and for every 500 women screened, will ensure that one life will be saved. Women between 60 and 69 have the second-highest incidence of breast cancer and the second-highest risk of dying from the disease. Nevertheless, the older half of this age group is currently ineligible for screening under BreastCheck. Almost 2,800 women are diagnosed annually with breast cancer, and it is the second-highest cause of cancer deaths in women after lung cancer. In 2012, 675 women died from breast cancer.

A plan to roll out the free breast cancer screening scheme to women aged between 65 and 69 should be included in the HSE national service plan for 2015, which will be published in the autumn. We must ensure these women can have continued care after they reach 65.

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