Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While the Minister of State touched on Cuan, my specific request is for the Department of Health to provide the group with the funding it needs to run its service. It costs at least €30,000 to do that. Those involved are volunteers and they do not have anything close to that money. They depend completely on the generosity of the public and the fundraising events they run. Some of the volunteers are cancer survivors themselves and they cannot continue in this way. To provide some specific detail, Cuan had 69 new clients in 2018. After it launched its new venue in September 2019, that went up to 121 clients. The numbers attending for complementary therapies went from 24 to 139 in September 2019. The numbers have jumped in the counselling service too. These are significant increases four and five times above the previous level within 12 months. The bottom line is funding.

I have testimonies from service users. They are emotive and real and it is important to hear them. One person says a cancer diagnosis is devastating and life-changing. He says that living with cancer is very difficult. While the initial care is fantastic, he points out that survivors continue to need support as they can feel isolated as check-ups are stretched further apart. According to his testimony, this is where the Cuan cancer support care has been a lifeline to this man and his wife. It offers a free and confidential service, even if it is just for a chat. It offers free therapies, which are very beneficial for cancer patients and family members. This man says he is a grateful survivor and Cuan member. I have numerous testimonies in the same terms which make the same passionate plea for support and funding for the Cuan cancer support service. As the Minister of State said, most centres like Cuan are run on a voluntary basis. None of the volunteers is complaining about that. The complaint centres on the need for transparency and equality.

They need to know they have a future and that there will be consistency so they can plan, safe in the knowledge that they are going to have funding.

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