John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am bitterly disappointed that the Minister for Health is not in the Chamber to take this matter as the issue I am raising concerning Purple House Cancer Support group in Bray is in constituency. It is an issue of which he is well aware.

In Ireland, one person is diagnosed with cancer every three minutes. Some 30,000 people are diagnosed every year, and this is due to increase to 40,000 by 2020. Thankfully, there are over 150,000 cancer survivors in Ireland and by 2020, one in 20 people will be a cancer survivor.

Cancer support groups across the State provide a critical service. In County Wicklow, we have a number of cancer support groups, including in Arklow, Greystones, Rathdrum, west Wicklow and indeed Purple House in Bray. The people of Wicklow are fantastic for putting their hands in their pockets to help fund these organisations. Unfortunately, that cannot be said of the Government. The number of people seeking and getting support from these groups continues to grow on a daily basis. In 2016, Purple House had more than 1,200 people visit its cancer support centre in Bray and the outreach support service in Dún Laoghaire. It provided 1,729 cancer support sessions and its team of counsellors delivered 212 professional counselling sessions, while 2,590 calls were made to and from their telephone support line and 42 children attended camps and workshops for children directly affected by cancer. Its volunteer hospital transport service provided 320 trips for chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment. Purple House Cancer Support works in partnership with the HSE and all existing medical agencies. It receives the majority of its referrals from the psycho-oncologists, social workers and cancer nurses in various hospitals as well as from general practitioners. Purple House not only serves the needs of those living with cancer in the community, but it also complements the implementation of wider Government policy on social inclusion, health promotion and strategic cancer support. It is an integrated part of the primary care system and regularly receives referrals from the primary care teams in the community.

Since 2011, unfortunately, HSE funding has decreased and stagnated for Purple House Cancer Support. In 2016, the costs of Purple House providing the excellent services and supports was €311,036. Over 77% of that was raised directly through fundraising. It is neither sustainable nor secure that only 23% of funding to Purple House comes from Government via the HSE. In July 2016, negotiations began between Purple House and the HSE with a view to securing sustainable funding for the survival of Purple House community cancer support services. Extensive work was carried out by Purple House in preparing a business case. Many meetings were held with senior HSE personnel and the business case was submitted to the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris. An application for funding has been made. Unfortunately, it appears to have hit a brick wall. Will support be given to the application by Purple House to put it on a sustainable funding level?

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