Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I thank Deputy O’Connell for introducing her Bill and I welcome the opportunity to address the House on behalf of the Minister for Health. The Deputy’s Bill has much merit, particularly as its purpose is to protect cancer patients and their families from being adversely influenced or offered false hope by so-called fix-all treatments and cures.

Patients recently diagnosed with or undergoing lengthy and painful treatment to fight a life-threatening disease such as cancer feel vulnerable and possibly fearful. They need positive, accurate and correct advice from the clinicians and other health professionals treating them. Above all, they must have confidence in what they see, read and hear about their condition in the press and on the radio, television and particularly social media. They may look for opportunities to increase their chances of recovery or to alleviate the side effects of their treatment. This desire can leave them open to being taken advantage of through claims made for alternative treatments that it is claimed provide a cure for cancer. Patients can be left open to abuse from these advertisements. As the Irish Cancer Society stated last December: "such dangerous advice leaves them at risk of harmful side effects and even death".

As Deputy O'Connell has informed us, there is potential for spurious claims to be made around costly and non-evidence-based treatments or diets for curing cancer. Indeed, they are often made. There is much public concern about such underhand and nasty attempts to exploit decent people and give them unfulfilled hope that they may recover without going near a professional clinician. Such advertisements generally come at a financial cost, as those making them seek payment with the intention of making a fast buck. By using social media and online platforms these people can easily hide their identity, leaving cancer patients acting on these offers in a worse place physically and mentally, and possibly at considerable financial loss.

In the treatment of cancer or any disease, patients should only receive competent medical advice and treatment from qualified medical or other healthcare professionals. We must always ensure that this high standard of care and advice is provided. While the Government is supportive of the objectives of the Bill, there are some areas that the Department of Health believes require further work. The Bill is potentially very broad and may overlap with some existing legislative provisions. We must also ensure that, if enacted, the Bill does not offend free trade rights, such as advertising by private hospitals. However, the Minister for Health believes there is significant merit in Deputy O’Connell's Bill and is pleased she has agreed to work with the Department before Committee Stage.

The Deputy has brought to our attention an issue that allows unprincipled people, for purely commercial reasons, to prey on ill and vulnerable people and offer hope that is not founded on medical or scientific evidence. If such advertisements are taken up, it may place patients in the hands of those who are not suitable or qualified and who ultimately may cause more harm. The issue is broad and complex and crosses multiple fields of regulation, including medical treatment, advertising through multiple media, food safety and possibly more. I sincerely thank Deputy O'Connell for and commend her on taking on the advertising of inaccurate and misleading cures and treatments. She is standing up to faceless people who hide behind the Internet or social media for personal and criminal gain.

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