Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion brought forward by my colleague, Deputy Cullinane. For people who may have symptoms of cancer, it has been a stressful time waiting to be screened. The Minister acknowledged that it is a traumatic time for people who are receiving treatment as well. We all acknowledge that. I welcome the fact that we will soon have BreastCheck, CervicalCheck and BowelScreen services all open this month. That is important.

In the first six months of 2019, some 248,223 people were screened for cancer. The figure for the same period in 2020 was just 99,000, or 40% of what was done the previous year. It shows that we are trying to play catch up here. We know the health services have gone through a difficult time and I want to acknowledge the work of the staff in the health services and of everybody who has put his or her shoulder to the wheel.

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What we need now, following the reopening, is a plan to catch up quickly and reduce the waiting list. This will need to be adequately funded. Our calculation is that an additional €10 million will be needed from the Department of Health. We need to assess each cancer screening facility in the State and see what extra capacity might be possible in order to meet demand. Such capacity cannot be pulled out of the sky and, as a result, that work will need to get under way. We must make cancer care a key priority in the coming months.

I also note how important it is to monitor prostate cancer. This is a real issue. Some 3,665 men were diagnosed with this cancer last year. It is the second most common male cancer. If it is not diagnosed in time, that leads to further problems, such as people needing to have their bowels removed and other serious surgeries because treatment was not provided early enough. Men are also sometimes slow to go for screening. I take this opportunity to encourage men to have screening for prostate cancer performed every year. That is very important. If prostate cancer is detected early, more than 93% of men will survive and go on to live normal lives. However, we must have screening in place and available, as well as speedy diagnosis. People have been slow to go to their GPs, who do this screening. It is important to encourage them to go. It is also important that consultants diagnose the disease quickly and that treatment is carried out.

I whish to address the backlog in cancer treatment services, the figure relating to which is down 30% on last year. Those diagnosed with cancer need quick access to diagnostic systems and cancer treatment. In the medium to long term, this will ease the burden on the health service. That will be one of the positive outcomes of this approach, because treating people in time will ease the burden later. Most importantly, however, if we can put the correct system and adequate capacity in place, early diagnosis and treatment will improve healthcare for thousands of patients and their quality of life and future prospects. I urge people to support this motion. Time is of the essence in dealing with cancer. Having cancer is an awful worry for anyone diagnosed with it. In that context, I urge the Minister to use every effort possible to have cancer treatment services fast-tracked.

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