Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The issue I have sought permission to raise is a very important one for women who are survivors of breast cancer and find themselves seeking support from the HSE after a mastectomy. The backdrop is that breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women in Ireland, second only to lung cancer. It affects a significant number of women nationally. Statistics show that approximately 2,500 women per annum are treated for or are at least diagnosed as having breast cancer. It affects them directly and also their families.

It was brought to my attention late last week that the HSE had decided off its own bat to introduce a policy on the provision of post-mastectomy products. I will quote several lines from an email that was sent to me. It claims that, after surgery, a lady is currently supplied and fitted with a breast prosthesis and two surgical bras to hold it in place. If this lady has a medical card, she may then be fitted and supplied with two surgical bras every year and a new breast prosthesis every two years, if required. Yesterday, the person who sent me the email received an email from the HSE stating that, from 1 July, there has been a new allowance in place and that ladies will now only be provided with an allowance of €68.50 for one breast prosthesis every two years and will no longer be provided with surgical bras other than those supplied when leaving hospital. The cost of a breast prosthesis, the email states, is between €150 and over €200, depending on the specification. The concern was considerable.

The Minister of State's colleague, the Minister, Deputy Harris, moved quite quickly to postpone the implementation of this new policy. What we want is certainty from the Minister of State and the Government on this policy because it appears nobody was consulted apart from the Irish Cancer Society. No survivors of breast cancer or clients of the HSE were canvassed or consulted directly.

With regard to public policy, I am not aware of any public representatives having been consulted through the HSE forums that now exist around the country. Given the impact on those who have had a mastectomy and who are dealing with the physical and emotional fallout from a cancer condition, it is unacceptable that the support the HSE was providing was suddenly halved overnight. The sums of money I have quoted in the context of the overall HSE budget seem tiny. Could the Minister of State shed a little light on this in her reply? There is a pause until August, as we now know. What will happen after August? Will the Minister of State also address the inconsistency or lack of uniformity in the application of the policy throughout the country? Will the same supports be available to medical card holders and non-medical card holders?

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